The Dark and the Divine - Story 2
by monlette
Summary: Commander Kunzite meets his dream girl. Too bad he's not a girl. Worse, he's slightly underaged, so Kunzite's infatuation must be unrequited. When the youngster meddles in an assassination plot, the only person who can help Kunzite save him doesn't owe Kunzite any favors. Would Kunzite give up everything to protect Zoisite? Would Zoisite even let him? No Yaoi. Not even a kiss.
1. Chapter 1

A man's soul cannot be corrupted against his will. That was well understood at the time of the great apocalypse. When the few survivors spoke of my downfall, they almost always assume that it came about because of Zoisite.

The prevailing rumor was that we turned to the darkness because our love was forbidden. That we were betrothed to others against our will. As if a man like me could be forced to marry. As if something as trivial as a forced marriage would have kept me away from him.

Some believe our love to be both unlawful and unnatural, therefore corrosive by its very nature. I pity anyone who feels that way because they have never known real love. True love, as opposed to the mammalian lust and sexual barter most humans have never evolved beyond, must be the least evil thing in the universe.

The rumor that angers me the most was that Zoisite, with his exceptional beauty, was never human at all, but rather an incubus sent to corrupt the souls of men and women alike. This one is unfair. Zoisite was an innocent. Far more innocent than I ever was. Yes, he fought and he manipulated and he deceived and he seduced, but only because he had to, and only with the noblest of intentions. Of all people on Earth he was the least to blame for the widening rift with the moon, and the near total genocide that came about as its result.

Then again, on this topic I have never been objective. I will tell you of our beginnings and you can judge for yourself.

-%-

Part 2 : The Hothouse Flower

By the tenth day on the moon I was ready to hang myself.

I asked to remain on the moon with Venus and Mars to help wipe out the Cult of Metalia while Endymion, Jupiter, Mercury, and their princess travelled to Earth. The trouble was, I couldn't actually be of any help, since Queen Serenity never let me leave the palace. I may have been the most powerful warlord on Earth, but on the moon I was merely a diplomat. A special guest to be coddled and pampered just like any other distinguished foreigner. She agreed to my request to stay behind, only because everyone perceived as a thinly veiled ruse to romance Venus, who had to stay behind to impersonate the princess. Everyone with eyes could see we had grown quite fond of one another. In a way they were correct, I did want to deepen my acquaintance with Venus, and to a lesser extent, the lovely firebrand Mars.

I knew Mars to be cruel-natured and abrasive. I considered it part of her charm. The charm wore off quickly. Every evening she would return from hunting and killing the criminally deranged exiles who made up the Cult of Metalia, while I had to stay indoors like a palace pet. She'd greet me with a barrage of openly sexist and xenophobic insults. Sometimes I would snap back at her, and she seemed to enjoy that. I didn't, so I did my best to avoid her company.

Worse, the initial bloom of romance had wilted between Venus and me. That's not to say we didn't get along. We never fought once. In fact, if she felt her affections fading as rapidly as mine did, she gave no indication of it. It was not anything had gone wrong. It was just that we had reached the zenith of our relationship a little too early. Despite our fondness for one another, I found her grating on my nerves.

For one thing, her room was a mess, and she was starting to make a mess of the princess's room as well. Not that I ever went in there, but the fact that she could sleep in such knee-high squalor alarmed me. Even that paled in comparison to my annoyance at the near constant buzzing of her wrist phone. When we were in bed she turned it off. The rest of the time she kept it on. She had gotten me one too, but I never wore it. I kept losing it on purpose, but she'd just get me another one exactly like it. So I kept it on my nightstand in case of emergencies. Since I wouldn't wear it, every morning began with a litany of nonstop cajoling about how I needed to wear it at all time so we could talk. I told her I didn't see the point. I was right there in the same palace. If she wanted to talk, she could come visit me in my quarters any time she wanted.

She told me it wasn't the same as talking on the phone. I could see that. If her example was anything to go by, the phone was a curse. She spent half her day conversing with her wrist. Meals, stargazing on the parapets, strolls through the garden —all of these she experienced only through the periphery of her vision while she turned her full attention to the gossip the moon girls relayed from Earth.

Even the sex wasn't as great as I thought it was at first. I came to realized that the frenzied wrestling of our earliest encounters wasn't as much spirited lovemaking as it was a struggle for dominance. Neither of us liked for the other to be on top. Exhilarating, yes, but it was also limiting. Just for once I would have like for her to lie back and allow me to worship her beauty.

Her beauty. Even that was starting to wear on me. Her body was the best I'd ever seen and her face was absolutely breathtaking if you looked at it head on, but I didn't care as much for her profile. Her nose was too short and her brow was too long. Not by much. Not even enough to be noticeable, except by the light of a hundred other petty annoyances. She was fun, but the type of fun that was best enjoyed casually and in moderation. I used to rue the fact that we were starcrossed by our duties and we'd soon be parted. Now I saw it as a blessing.

I could have asked to return to Earth early since they had no need of me, but I would have lost face. I asked for this honor, I would have to see it through. Each day I prayed for a crisis to arise on Earth that would require my immediate attention. I knew that would not happen. We had already defeated Elysium's major enemies so we enjoyed nearly a decade of peace and prosperity. My army, which once spanned the horizon, had dwindled to about a hundred of my most hardened and battle thirsty of soldiers. I got to pick and choose what missions to lead my men on. Mostly quelling riots and securing untamed areas so they can be mined for their natural resources. My second in command, Lieutenant Commander Nephrite, led in my absence. An ambitious fool to be sure, but one with infallible judgment, and popular with the men besides that. Of course, he was a peacetime commander. He had yet to learn popularity will only get him so far when the tide of a battle turns against him. A man will not sacrifice himself for leader who is merely likable. Yet, I could not foresee him taking on a mission that would push him past the boundaries of his leadership ability. More likely he'd want a slew of easy victories so he might catch the eye of the king and make him question whether he put the right man in charge.

After three months or more, Queen Serenity summoned me, along with Venus and Mars, to her throne room. She sat with the light of the torches flickering in the shine of her snow white hair. "The cult of Metalia has been scoured from the face of the moon. Prepare yourself for a journey to the Earth so that I might collect the princess and the others. There is a grand feast being held honoring my arrival in the Earth King's palace. We'll leave as soon as you are ready."

Venus followed me into my room. I changed into my formalwear and packed up my few belongings. My phone was already gone from my nightstand and Venus had a sly look on her face, I should have known she didn't trust me to pack it. In that regard she was absolutely correct. I grabbed the bottle of sandalwood oil I'd bought as a souvenir and placed it in my valise, discarding the sparkly bag it came in. Cute and sparkly things were more commonplace on the moon than ants were on Earth. I hoped to never see another sparkle, rainbow, or unicorn for as long as I lived.

"You'll want to change into something more formal," I told Venus as she took off her princess gown and got into her sailor costume with its high heels and tiny orange miniskirt.

"No need," she said while adjusting her big red bow. "This outfit is a lot more versatile than it appears."

"On Earth all gowns must reach the floor or they are considered pornographic. You can't flash your thighs around the king's palace or you'll create a scandal."

Venus laughed. "Don't worry. This isn't our first diplomatic banquet. I'll be appropriately dressed when the time comes."

We returned to the queen and a porter took my luggage. Mars was also in her high heels and miniskirt and also brought nothing. The Queen wore a stately gown, as always. "Ready?"

We nodded. I expected her to lead us to a mooncraft. Instead, I blinked and found myself on a hilltop overlooking the Earth Palace. The porter was no longer with us and guests filed onto the drawbridge from carriages or covered litters. Venus and Mars watched and commented on the gowns they liked the most. Then to my utter shock and amazement, their uniforms broke apart into bands that expanded and separated from their bodies, leaving them completely naked, and then coalesced into beaded evening gowns. Red for Mars. Champagne yellow for Venus. She still wore her red hair bow, but unless she was impersonating the princess that thing never came off her head. It was probably a breach of moon etiquette to gape at them as I did, but under the circumstances, I couldn't help it.

"Shall we go in?" The queen said.

As soon as we nodded we were at the drawbridge. No doubt the queen could have teleported us right into the banquet room, but moon manners were maybe not so different than ours after all. No sooner had we appeared than the moon princess came running out of the palace, with Endymion following at a more sedate pace.

"Mommy!" She yelled and threw her arms around her mother and laid her cheek against her breast. Then she hugged Venus, then Mars, and to my surprise, she hugged me too. "Mommy, I have the most wonderful news."

"What is it, my dove?" the queen said with a fond smile, brushing her daughter's cheek with her fingers.

"Prince Endymion has asked me to marry him, and I've said yes!"

All decorum vanished from the queen's face and she looked like she had bitten into a rotten persimmon. "No you won't, Serenity. Don't be stupid!"

Endymion stepped forward, his mouth open in protest, but the princess held him back.

"Please my love," she said with absolute certainty. "I know how to handle this."


	2. Chapter 2

The princess took both of her mother's hands in her own. "Please, before you say anything more, please hear me out."

"I've heard enough already," the queen pulled her hands away from her. "Serenity. This is a terrible idea."

"No, it's not." She caught one of her mother's hands and kissed it. "I'm in love, mommy. I haven't just fallen in love with Endymion. I have fallen in love with this entire planet. The fields, the flowers, the people… It is so wild and untamed. I've never seen such beauty. This is where I belong. I know it in my heart."

"You have the heart of a child," the Queen said, but did not pull her hand away. "And like a child you will become bored or unhappy and then you will beg me to take you home."

"I will not. This is my home." The princess reached back to Endymion to take his hand. "This is to be my husband."

The queen's mouth became even more sour. "You are my heir. Your place is on the Moon."

"You don't understand, mother. I am abdicating my claim to the monarchy."

I heard Venus's breath catch in her throat and she clung to me. Mars looked as if she might faint. The queen was speechless for a minute, but her fierce expression spoke volumes.

"Please, Mommy. Try to understand. All my life I felt as if I didn't belong on the Moon. I wasn't good enough. I wasn't smart enough. I didn't met your expectation as an heir. I just know I would make a terrible queen..." She gave Endymion's hand a squeeze. "...but I know I will make an excellent queen consort."

"Impossible," the Queen said.

The princess shook her head. "Mother, you are still young. You have plenty of time to bear another daughter to take my place."

The queen's eyes filled with sorrow and disappointment. "Serenity. Think of what you are doing. As queen I am allowed only one daughter. My power and responsibilities are too great to be divided. If you renounce your claim to the throne, you will be banished. Your name will be stuck from all records and you will cease to be acknowledged. You can never return to the Moon. Not ever. It will be as if you were never born."

Venus stroked my arm in anxiety. I felt awkward being a part of this, but I couldn't just wander away from three members of royalty without being dismissed.

The princess stood tall. "Mother. I have thought this through. There is no need to renounce me entirely. Change the law. I will serve as an ambassador between our worlds and bring both the Earth and Moon into a new golden age of enlightenment. Already I have introduced several of our technologies to the Earth. They will improve life here significantly."

"You have given them our technology?" The queen wore a fearsome expression and Endymion came forward to stand at her side.

"Peaceful technology only," Endymion said. "Nothing that can be used as a weapon against you, your grace. You can see for yourself in the palace's Hall of Wonders."

"Serenity, you are a silly, naïve little girl and I won't allow you to make mistakes of this magnitude in the future."

The princess narrowed her eyes slyly. "If I'm so stupid, how could you ever trust me to take your place as queen?"

The queen sighed and cupped her hands together. "Very well. I am your queen first and your mother second. I can see I have sheltered you far too much from the bleaker aspects of reality. You lack wisdom. Wisdom you must acquire through the consequences of your errors, since you lack commonsense. Perhaps a brief period of heartache and disillusionment will do you a world of good."

The queen held out her hand and within it was a ring of onyx with a gold crescent moon. "I will accept your abdication…in five Earth years from this date. I suspect you will come to your senses long before then. When you are ready to return to me, twist the stone on the ring until the gold moon is full and you will be whisked back to the palace."

She turned to Endymion and gave him a harsh stare. "Once she leaves you, you will never be permitted to see her again. I am consenting to this foolishness only because this marriage holds no meaning for us. I will acknowledge Serenity's eldest daughter, should she be foolish enough to bear one. The others will be cast aside, the way you earth princes cast away your bastard-born children. You may keep any sons. Is this understood?"

Endymion nodded and drew the princess close. "Do not worry on my account. I have only the noblest intentions for your daughter. I will make her very happy."

"I doubt that," the queen said. She turned her back on us.

"Mommy you must come inside now. The king is holding a feast in your honor and is looking forward to meeting with you again."

"I am leaving now and I will never return to this planet for as long as I live."

The princess's eyes filled with tears. "At least come inside to say hello to the Earth King. I promised him you would be here."

The queen gave her daughter a withering look over her shoulder. "Let this be your first lesson as a queen – whenever you break a promise or a treaty, you must do so without hesitation or apology."

And with those words, the queen vanished.

"What a royal bitch," Mars winked at me then covered her mouth. "Opps, did I say that out loud?"

Endymion held the princess close as she put her head against his chest and burst into tears. He stroked her back. "It's okay," he whispered. "She's just shocked by the suddenness of all this. I will win her over."

The princess spoke through her heart-wrenching sobs. "You don't know my mother. If she tells me I must give you up in order to see her again, it means I will never see her again."

Endymion plucked a handkerchief from his pocket and gently wiped away her tears. "You mustn't cry now. We need to rejoin the feast and my father will not want to see you sad. He cares about you very much."

"I can't go in there without my mother. I will be humiliated. I promised she would be here."

"You are not responsible for her actions. Only your own. And your actions are always sweet, gentle, and above reproach, just like you are."

The princess smiled and allowed her tears to dry. Venus draped herself against my side and rested her head on my shoulder. I could tell by the way Endymion and the princess looked at one another that they had not been intimate. Their eyes were filled with unfulfilled promises and their lightest touches sent shockwaves through them both. And yet they were close. As close as two people could be.

I was starting to rethink my views on abstinence. Perhaps our ancestors had the right ideas when it came to courtly love and unrequited romance. Not that I had any interest in celibacy for myself. My views were purely theoretic. And that's not to say things would have turned out differently with myself and Venus if I had. I went into that relationship knowing it wouldn't last.

The princess composed herself and even managed to smile as we entered the palace's massive ballroom. The king and the moongirls who were not in my party sat on a raised platform intended for the king and his most honored guests. As accomplished as I was, I could have never sat there except as part of the moon princess's entourage. The rest of the dinners were seated below, their rank dictated how close they sat to the king.

"Where is your mother, the queen?" the king asked.

"She sends her regrets but she has been called away on last minute palace business." The princess reclaimed her seat in the high-backed velvet-padded chair next to the king. Servants rushed to fill her glass. Endymion sat next to her, then Venus, then myself, with Mars taking the last empty chair. Many of the surrounding nobles scowled at me with open envy. Not only because of my proximity of the king, but because I was the lowest ranking male seated at a table filled with exceptional beauties.

The king nodded and did not press the subject. I could tell this disappointed him, since he had ambitiously awaited a chance to host the moon queen, but he knew enough not to upset the princess. The princess still smiled, but it was a troubled smile.

Servants came by with wine and plates of spiced roast for us late arrivals. The king looked at the princess. She was in no mood to converse, so he clapped his hands to cue the entertainers.

The lights dimmed to mere candlelight and the court musicians played a soft melody on instruments resembling a flute and a harp.

"This is such a tragic melody," I heard the princess say.

It seemed an odd comment to me. It wasn't particularly sad by Earth standard. It was just a simple love song.

When I glanced over, her food was still on her plate, untouched. As was her wine. Her eyes were closed and her face was streaked on either side by a river of tears.


	3. Chapter 3

"Father, I need to check on the schedule for this evening." Endymion wiped his mouth with a napkin. "Kunzite, come with me," then added as if in afterthought, "you may bring Venus along with us."

From the look in his eye, I could tell he meant, "You will bring Venus with us."

We rose and he led us to the Master of Ceremonies. "May I see the program for tonight's entertainment?"

The Master of Ceremonies gave him a schedule and the prince looked it over.

"No, no. No. And no." He handed the papers back to the Master of Ceremonies. "None of this is suitable. No somber tunes, no sad endings, no tragedies, no tales of doomed lovers, and nothing about a mother's love for her children. The moon princess is feeling melancholy tonight, and she needs to be distracted from her troubles. There is to be nothing tonight but merriment."

The Master of Ceremonies blanched. "But the entertainers. They have been preparing for months."

"Make them change it. Explain that they don't have to be good so much as amusing. Any mistakes they make will make people laugh even louder, and tonight I want to hear a lot of laughter."

The Master of Ceremonies looked unconvinced so the prince added. "I'll double their wages out of my own pocket. No, I will pay them triple what they are asking. And I'll double even that for anyone who can make the princess laugh."

"What would you suggest as an alternative?" The Master of Ceremonies asked.

Endymion turned to Venus. "What does the princess find amusing?"

Venus shrugged. "I don't know. She isn't very fussy. She likes whatever is popular."

That wasn't very helpful, so Endymion had to think before answering. "Inform them that I want to see bawdiest sex comedies in their repertoire. The sort of lowbrow thing you'd see in a street fair to amuse lonely matrons. No actual nudity, but anything short of that will be perfectly acceptable. "

Endymion looked to Venus, who smiled and nodded.

The Master of Ceremonies broke into a sweat. I could understand his misgivings. There were many high ranking nobles in the audience. Not all of them had a sense of humor about this sort of thing. "Your grace, there are children present."

"That's their parents' problem, not mine. The littler ones won't get the dirtiest jokes anyway. If anyone disapproves, they are welcome to get up and leave the ballroom to tour the gardens or the Hall of Wonders. I'll bet all those hypocrites remain in their seats and watch the entire show before they complain. When they do, tell them they are welcome to send me a letter stating their disapproval." Endymion winked.

The dance troupe overheard and approached. They wore flesh colored bodysuits under kimono-style robes.

"Can we do_ The Story of Hercules and Flora_ as a shadow dance?" a woman in a long curly wig asked with a glint of mischief in her eye.

The prince nodded and she and her partner, a well-muscled man in a similar robe and bodysuit, clasped their hands together and smiled wicked little smiles.

Clearly Endymion had never heard of _The Story of Hercules and Flora_, or he would have realized that would take things a little too far. There's no way to do that story justice without scandalizing all of the people in the room into a stupor.

I said nothing, since I was one of the few who wouldn't be shocked, and I wanted to see what they would come up with.

We returned to our seats, saying nothing. The songs went on for far longer than they should have. No doubt to give the actors time to prepare for the change in venue. The whole time, Princess Serenity wept silently, dabbing her eyes on occasion and making a wistful comment about how moving she found the music to keep from spoiling the evening for the rest of us.

At long last the play began. I won't go into detail since it was nothing special. Just a mediocre sample from the Lovepotion-Gone-Awry genre. Since the actors didn't have time to rehearse, they had to rely on slapstick, pratfalls, stock jokes, with minor amounts of improvisation. The actors seemed to share their manager's misgivings since the humor was toned down. A few of the more elderly nobles got up and left the room in a huff, but I suspected this had more to do with the faintly subversive political tone than any perception of raunch.

Yet, to my surprise, the moongirls howled like it was the funniest thing they'd ever seen in their lives. Even the lamest jokes inspired gales of laughter from them, and I realized while this was nothing I hadn't seen a hundred times before, it was completely new to them. At the start of the play the princess stared at her plate. Then she chuckled at a line the others found funny. Then she looked up and watched the play with a huge grin on her face, laughing at all the jokes and making catcalls at the characters with the other moongirls. Eventually her tears of sadness were replaced by tears of merriment and she watched and chatted happily with the king and her friends as if she hadn't a care in the world.

I gave Endymion a subtle nod when she wasn't looking and he smiled. He was proud of his budding diplomatic skills, I could tell. He had every reason to be. Despite his brash youthfulness, he promised to mature into an even better king than his father.

Then came a lull in the play when a servant was forced to attend two weddings at once so he had to rush back and forth between them. Even the moongirls found this part boring, but the princess was too sweetnatured not to say something nice about it. "I think I would like a dress like the first one for my own wedding." Indicating the fuller, flouncier dress. "Can I have one just like it?" She asked the king.

"Of course, my dear. I'll make inquiries after the performance. But wouldn't you like something fancier?"

"I can make it fancier later," the princess said.

"I like the other one better." Venus said, indicating the sleeker dress, cut low in both the back and front.

"You can wear that one when you marry Kunzite." She said and they both giggled.

I felt my heart skip a beat in fear. "It's a pity Venus has to return to the moon."

"Oh, no, I don't," she gave me a wink with what I hoped was deadpan humor. "My job is to protect the princess, so I go where she goes. Now that she's made her home on Earth, we can live together forever."

The princess reached past Endymion to grab Venus' hand. "I know. We can have a double wedding. Me and Endymion, you and Kunzite."

Venus chuckled. "Oh, no. You're the princess. I wouldn't think of intruding upon any part of your special day."

"You won't be stealing it. First you and Kunzite would walk down the aisle, hand in hand. You will exchange vows. Then raise your swords and kneel as Endymion and I are wed. Think about it, not only will Endymion and I be wed, but our guardians will be wed as well. We will start our own royal tradition."

My heart raced as I realized she was deadly serious about this, and not merely having a laugh at my expense. I tried to think of a way to extract myself from this situation in a way that wouldn't cause a flood of tears to erupt from the emotional fragile princess.

Fortunately, Venus' eyes were sly. "Let's just concentrate on one wedding at a time for now." She gave my hand a conspiratory squeeze under the table.

At that point the play made a more interesting turn and I was able to sit in silence. Then came a part where a fat old ratcatcher with wild eyes became criminally obsessed with a feeble dowager duchess due to the effects of the potion. The princess grabbed Endymion's sleeve. "Who's that pretty boy?"

Those characters were the only two on the stage, so I wondered if this was a moon joke that was too nuanced to grasp. But she pointed off to one side and the other moongirls stared.

Mars chuckled. "That's not a boy, stupid. That's a girl dressed up to look like a boy."

"It is not," the princess said. "It's a boy. I can tell. He's got boy hands."

Jupiter craned her neck. "You're right. Wow."

"Pretty, huh?" the princess said.

Jupiter shrugged. "Too pretty for me," she said. "I make it a point not to date anyone who is prettier than I am."

Mercury just blushed.

Now I was curious, but not curious enough to stare like a moongirl. I waited a few seconds before they looked away before I hazarded a quick glance in that direction.

One look and I was done for.

I didn't have to wonder if I had the right person. It was obvious. He wasn't just pretty. He was by far the most beautiful person in the room. Male or female. He sat at a table with three exceptionally drab people and stood out like a firebird in a flock of crows. From what I could see of his heart-shaped face it was perfect. Perfect nose, tilted eyes, delicate chin. He wore a black velvet caplet lined with cheetah fur and a matching cap with a large emerald set over black feathers, while his 10k gold hair spilled in tousled waves all the way down to the small of his back.

He must have noticed me looking since he turned in his seat a little and looked back at me with those strange green eyes of his, but neither of us looked away.


	4. Chapter 4

He was exotic. I wanted him. If I were a different type of warlord I might have sacked an entire village to claim him as my prize.

I hadn't been attracted to another boy since I was a teenager, but this revelation didn't startle as much as you might think it would. You have to remember that this story takes thousands of years before the first earthly religious texts would force these sorts of feelings into hiding. Granted, men could not marry men. Marriage was not done for love. Women could marry women, but it was considered a sad affair in which neither had found a man to provide for her, so they had to make do. Men married to unite and propagate lineages, and that required a woman. Any woman, so long as she was healthy and capable of childbearing. Granted, love matches did exist when a couple was fortunate enough to form a bond before either of them had married another, but it wasn't uncommon for a man exchange vows with his prearranged bride standing to his right, while his longtime lover stood to his left.

The play ended. Screens were carried in to hide the actors and stage hands as they cleared the backdrops and props for the next act.

"Who is he?" the princess repeated as the palace staff served us plates of sweet cheese and sour cherries.

Endymion didn't look pleased, though I doubted that had anything to do with the dessert. "I really don't know," he told her. "The man at the table is my father's royal treasurer. The women are his wife and daughter, but I'm not sure who the boy is. Probably the girl's fiancé."

What a waste. The girl in question was unfortunate looking, with limp dark hair and an oafish build. Occasionally, she looked at the moongirls and scowled. Even the homeliest of girls could make herself alluring if she chose to, but this one seemed content to wallow in envy and selfpity. By contrast, her mother was exceptionally comely, with a willowy figure and thick brown hair just giving way to gray, but her face had seen better days. The man, like his wife, was dressed in somber hues, but the man's hair was thin and reddish blond, and he was more broad-boned, like his daughter.

"Actually, he's not her fiancé. He's her brother," the king said.

"They have a son?" Endymion said in obvious shock. "How come they never speak of him or bring him to the palace?"

"The boy is in frail health," the king said. "He has fainting spells."

The princess' brow creased in concentration. "Really? Because I'm not seeing it. My element is healing, and it tells me he's perfectly healthy."

The king shrugged. "I was told sometimes he becomes incoherent for a week or more." The princess narrowed her eye in a dubious expression so the king added. "Perhaps he's outgrown it. I don't know."

I stole another look at the boy. There was nothing wrong with him that I could see. He ate his dessert sparingly, like a small bird. _So delicate_. No resemblance at all between the two siblings, but I saw bits and pieces of the parents in both of them. The girl seemed to have inherited the worst traits of both parents, while the boy had gotten the best, as well as a few that seemed wholly unique to himself.

I could see why they'd keep him away hidden until his sister was safely married. The king's treasurer was one of the kingdom's wealthiest and most influential men. It was easy to imagine any number of handsome young noblemen coming to pay court to the girl, only to spend half the evening on the couch talking with her brother.

"He seems fascinating. Have him brought here," the princess said. "I want to meet him."

The king chuckled at her boldness. Endymion wore a bitter look as he moved his food around his plate with his fork. All that work to try to make the princess happy, and she wanted to meet another boy. Granted, it was pretty clear she liked him the way she would a sparkly hair accessory or a kitten, but jealousy is never rational.

The king summoned a messenger to invite the treasurer and his family over after the entertainers finished and the princess ate her dessert. Once she was done, she pushed her clean plate away and asked around the table whether we were going to finish ours, and if not, could we pass them down, because she was still starving.

Venus sighed. "Serenity, stop it. You've been behaving like a little girl all evening. You will have to be better than this if you want your earth subjects to take you seriously."

I smiled at her since it was amusing to see how effortlessly she stepped up the role as the girl's mother. Clearly, someone had to.

Venus was looking really good, with her outstanding body, sleek flaxen hair, and big sky blue eyes that went so well with her shell pink lips. The sight of the golden haired creature across the room made her even more attractive to me. You might have expected the opposite, but there is something you have to remember - she was mine and he was not. I couldn't tell how old he was, but I guessed somewhere between sixteen and twenty. Even at the higher end of that, he was still too young, and off-limits to me in a hundred other ways.

The princess made a face at her. "Endymion likes me just the way I am. Don't you, Endymion?"

Endymion didn't look up from his plate. "I think you should listen to Venus. She tends to give good advice."

"Exactly," Mars said and the others nodded.

The princess sulked, but it was a playful sulk, with no hint of the mourning and despair she'd displayed earlier.

"I think you're all being a little rough on Serenity," the king said and gave her chin a fatherly little push with his fist. "What's the point of being a princess if you can't have a bit of fun now and then?"

The princess giggled and brightened. I felt grim. He wouldn't be nearly this indulgent after he learned her supremely powerful mother intended to disown her.

The musicians took their place to either side of the stage and the screens were cleared to reveal three armored soldiers playing dice in an ancient temple filled with black statues and gold ornaments.

"Sshh," Mercury said. "I think the last performance is going to begin."

The emcee came out with a flourish.

"Presenting, _The Story of Hercules and Flora_," he announced and rushed from the stage.

My eyes widened in horror. _The shadow dance! _I had completely forgotten it.

"Oh, look," Jupiter said. "I think this one has a military theme."

The audience sat around halfheartedly, already bored. None of them knew the story. Otherwise at least half of them would have fled, pulling their children out with them. The emcee was grossly irresponsible for not offering a disclaimer.

The golden-haired boy sat in profile and watched the stage intently and I wanted to get up and drag him out of there. I didn't know exactly how old he was, but he shouldn't be watching something like this. Certainly not immediately before being introduced to a table filled with beautiful young women.

A deep voice came over a megaphone to act as narration.

_"Once upon a time, there were three soldiers who were sent to guard the Temple of Hercules. The work was dull. They amused themselves by gambling."_

One of the actors sat behind a mountain of coins and pantomimed throwing dice while the others watched and then pantomiming wailing and rending their garments at the outcome. The audience chuckled politely, since they thought it was expected of them.

_"One of the soldiers had an exceptionally strong streak of luck and soon the others were out of coins."_

The two others threw up their their hands and walked away to mope against the far wall facing the audience.

_"They had given up, but the lucky soldier was not ready to end his winning streak. So he decided to gamble against the god Hercules himself."_

The soldier stood up and raided treasures from the temple and put them in a pile while his fellows shook their heads in disapproval.

_"Since Hercules had no dice, the soldier would throw with his right hand for himself and his left hand for the god."_

The actor mimicked this then blinked and shook his fists at the heavens, while his fellows doubled over in pretended laughter.

_"Never bet against a god."_

The gambler pushed his pile of coins toward the treasures then wandered about the stage moping. Then he looked up like an idea came to him and he went back to his dice.

_"The gambler wanted to win back his money, but he had nothing left to wager. Then he remembered he had already hired a prostitute for the evening."_

Murmurs rose throughout the crowd. They were starting to catch on.

The soldier tossed the dice again. Then froze in place.

_"Like I said: Never gamble against a god..."_

The soldier got up and left the stage, returning a short time later, pulling along the female dancer with the long wig and robe I saw earlier, only she was painted up and decorated to look like a tawdry camp follower. He placed her at the center of the stage, then ushered the other two soldiers out of the temple to give Hercules some privacy.

_"The woman was baffled as to why they were paying her to sleep alone in a deserted temple..."_

She wandered about the stage, making a show of inspecting the temple for dust.

_"...but this was the easiest money she'd made for a long while..."_

The actress shrugged, then stretched her arms above her head and then gave an exaggerated yawn, before she lowered herself to the floor to curl into a ball.

_"She settled down on the floor to sleep."_

She closed her eyes and two other male dancers came out and unfurled a screen of oiled silk depicting the front of a temple. The banner was so large that it completely hid the stage from the audience.

_"That night she had a dream."_

The lights dimmed down to just candlelight. The oil lamps lighting the stage rendered the screen translucent so that the silhouette of the sleeping woman could be seen clearly. The musicians started to play a slow melody on stringed instruments as a male silhouette of a well-muscled man advanced with a dancer's walk across the stage to where she lay. Nothing was visible of course, but if he was supposed to be clothed, it was not apparent.

Now the audience buzzed in earnest as the male dancer reached down and pulled the female dancer up by one arm as she slid up the length of his body and their faces joined in a passionate kiss. The kiss didn't break off as he stepped backward and forward to create interesting angles with the curves of their bodies. Then he pulled the robe from her shoulders and dropped it on the floor so that they both appeared to nude. She bent back in his arms and whipped her hair around in a suggestive manner before he hoisted her up so that her legs crossed around his hips.

"Oh, wow, this is so hot," Venus whispered in my ear and gave it a little nip for good measure.

What followed, of course, was about fifteen minutes of intensely erotic acrobatics. There was nothing suggestive about their movements, it was pure ballet. But those poses...

...Let's just say not all of them were practical. The king was going to get an earful about this.

I looked at Endymion. He'd gone red in the face. The princess saw him and giggled, and tried to give him a kiss on the cheek but he ducked away like she was a branding iron.

I stole a glance at the golden haired youth, expecting him to be similarly traumatized. He sat forward in his seat, watching intently. His mother had put her hand over his eyes, but he'd tilted his head just enough to peek over it. His father and sister made a show of sitting with their backs to the stage. Their arms were crossed and they were looking thoroughly disgusted.

At long last the music ended and the dancers took their bows with self-satisfied smirks on their faces. I'm sure they weren't expecting any applause, but the story of the night they'd horrified the entire king's court would be one they would pass down to their children.

The princess and her court rose as one. They clapped and screamed and cried out for an encore. I did not rise to join them, but I did clap and made no attempt to distance myself from their behavior.

The prince just sat there. Paralyzed and beet red.

The golden-haired youth did not clap, but the subversive little smirk never left his face.


	5. Chapter 5

With the dinner and festivities concluded and the mingling underway, the treasurer and his family made their way to our table. They all smiled at the honor of being invited to approach the king, except for the boy, who hung back behind them and looked bored. He looked even better up close. His figure could only be described as svelte—he was of average height, but fine-boned and elegant with long legs, a trim waist and a chest as flat as a shield. Definitely not a girl. His eyes at that time were a peridot green with gold around the pupils and little flecks of black around the edges. They had the look of a captive, which was odd considering his family's influence and wealth.

In my experience as a warlord, I've known of three types of captives. There are those who stay quiet, and take obvious opportunities to escape, but otherwise submit meekly in order to avoid harm until they grow used to their captivity and forget what it was like to be free.

Those are the normal captives.

Then there are those who are bolder. They mouth off to their captors, hunt about for weapons, fight to defend themselves, and seek to escape at the first sign of opportunity.

Those are the dead captives.

Then there is a third type. The kind that bide their time by pretending they aren't captives at all. That no matter how badly they are mistreated, they'll insist they've been saved from something far worse. Those captives never try to escape. In fact they will fight off any attempts at rescue, unless absolutely certain it will succeed. They serve meekly and with great affection, so much so that the captor eventually becomes emotionally attached, to the point where he will feel safe enough to fall asleep with the captive nestled in his arms. That's when the captive will reach for the knife that's been hidden under the mattress and slits the captor's throat.

Those are the sort of eyes this kid had.

Needless to say, I was intrigued.

The rest of the family seemed like your run of the mill courtiers, which wasn't surprising given that the treasurer was one of the king's most trusted advisors.

"A rather interesting choice of entertainment," he said in a jovial tone. "Not exactly what I would have chosen, but I suppose that's why I'm the treasurer and not your Master of Ceremonies."

Endymion's blush had only faded a little. "Please forgive me. That was my fault. I thought-"

His father held up a hand to stop him. "There is no need to apologize. Our special guests found it entertaining and that's all that matters."

The treasurer's smile wavered just a bit as he realized his influence over the king was being eclipsed by the foolish princess.

"I thought it was disgusting," the daughter said without tact.

A fleet look of warning flitted across her mother's face but gave way to parental indulgence. "I must admit, I found it a tad vulgar as well."

"And what did you think of it?" the princess asked her brother.

"I thought it was the best thing I'd ever seen in my life."

The princess burst into a fit of giggles and I started to wonder how many times the servants had refilled her wineglass during the festivities.

"Allow me to introduce myself," the treasurer said. "I am Oberin. This is my wife Niobe, my son Zoisite and my daughter Ruby."

The princess bowed graciously. "I am Princess Serenity of the Moon. These are my mother's inner circle of guardians: Mercury, Jupiter, Mars, as well as my captain Venus, and her fiancé Kunzite."

I made no effort to correct her. Venus knew she wasn't really my fiancé and that was all that mattered.

The boy Zoisite nodded at me, "My congratulations. Your fiancé is very beautiful."

_Not quite as beautiful as you are_, I told myself before I chased that thought right out of my head. If the boy was as young as he looked, that sort of thinking could get me into a lot of trouble.

"You're all so lovely! You look like angels," Ruby said in a fawning tone, as if she hadn't been giving them contemptuous looks all evening.

The princess looked over the siblings. "How old are you?"

"I'm sixteen," Ruby said.

"I'm nineteen," Zoisite said.

His sister scoffed. "No, you're not, you liar! He's eighteen."

"I'll be nineteen in four months," he said without raising his voice.

"That's half a year away!"

"No. It's a third of a year away."

"Stop it, both of you," their mother said and then her smile returned. "Honestly, even with the best of kids, motherhood can be such a trial at times."

"I'm eighteen, too," the princess said as if this were some sort of astounding coincidence. "We should be friends." She rose from her chair and Endymion set down his empty wine cup and gritted his teeth. By now he was in a thoroughly foul mood, which I secretly found amusing. Venus and the others said and did nothing. Like me, they seemed content to watch all this unfold.

"Yes, but I'm a girl," Ruby said. "It makes more sense for you to be friends with me instead of him."

The princess ignored her and walked around to Zoisite. There was a term for girls who sought out feminine looking men for platonic friendship. They called them honeybees. I didn't really understand it, until I realized the princess was practically buzzing as she examined his outfit. I was struck by how similar their builds were when they stood side by side. Even their coltish posture was similar. She actually looked like she might be his sister, unlike the loutish girl glaring at them in jealous disdain.

"Nineteen in four months, huh?" the king said. "So you're right at the cusp of adulthood. I'm sure your parents are planning quite the party for the occasion."

"Of, yes, of course," the woman said as if this went without saying. "I've been planning this for the past twenty years. It's going to outshine every other event this year." She chuckled. "Aside from this one, of course."

"Of course," The king smiled as if this also went without saying. "I assumed you've already decided upon a career, young man?"

His sister laughed. "He wants to be in the military."

That got a laugh out of Endymion as well. The boy flushed and Serenity shot her fiancé a dirty look. "I'm sorry, but honestly the idea is quite comical. He's far too small to be a warrior."

"Hey, I'm smaller than he is, and I'm a warrior!" the princess said.

Endymion nodded. "By about two inches and four pounds, maybe. But you're female. You're a lot stronger than you look."

Zoisite frowned. "I'm a lot stronger than I look. And I know how to fight."

"He certainly can," his mother said with a chuckle. "He's been kicked out of three very expensive schools for acts of excessive violence."

"Good for you," Jupiter said, and the others looked at her. "What? I'm sure they all deserved it."

The prince shook his head. "Sorry, there is no way Kunzite would allow you into the military. You should see the brutes he has under his command. Tell him, Kunzite."

Sadly, Endymion was right. There was no way I was going to toss this kid into a garrison with several score of trained killers. Not when he was prettier than all of their wives. He might hold his own against schoolboys, but there was a world of difference between being bullied by a roving band of snobs and bunking up with dozens of sexually frustrated two hundred pound soldiers.

Still, I didn't feel like destroying his dreams all at once. "Can you march for ten miles in the summer heat strapped into at least a hundred pounds of armor and supplies?"

"I've never tried."

"You might want to practice."

Endymion laughed. "Oh, come on, just tell him he can't join and be done with it. There is no way anyone can build up that much muscle in four months. The armory doesn't stock greaves and breastplates in pixie sizes."

The princess gasped. "Endymion. I've never seen you like this. You're being a jerk!" The prince settled down and sulked as she turned back to Zoisite. "I love your outfit. Especially this embroidery here," she pointed to a vine of primroses embroidered with gold thread near the clasp of his caplet.

His sister laughed again. "He did that himself."

"No way!" the princess said in a small voice.

"He sews all his own clothes," his mother said. "He also makes his own jewelry."

"Really? Can you sew this same pattern on my wedding veil?"

The treasurer and his family went still and quiet. The princess realized she'd committed some faux pas so she looked to the king with big imploring eyes.

He gave her a benevolent smile. "Serenity, my dear. You can't just go around asking people to sew things for you."

"Why not?" She asked in all innocence.

"It just isn't done," Endymion said with far less tact.

Zoisite sighed. "They're right, you know. It's a lot of work. It wouldn't be appropriate for me to charge you money for this, and it wouldn't be practical for me to do it for free."

The princess sulked.

"However, if you'd like, I could work on some patterns and discuss them your seamstresses."

The princess smiled and clasped her hands together. His mother smiled and placed her hand on the back of his arm. From the angle, I think I was the only one who could see that she was pinching him. Although neither the boy nor his mother changed expression, she was squeezing so hard that her knuckles turned white.

I had no idea what was going on between these two. I only knew it was none of my business.

The princess clapped. "Oh, could you? My friends and I are going to have a wedding planning party here at the palace in a few weeks. It would be great if you could be there."

"Where's my invitation?" his sister asked.

"You can't sew," Zoisite told her. Then he looked back at the princess with a devious smile. "I wouldn't miss it. Just send a messenger to my father's office with a date and time and I'll make myself available. I'm sure my parents will be glad for me to get to know some people at the palace now that I'm at the cusp of adulthood." He looked over his shoulder. "Wouldn't you mother?"

The woman smiled sweetly, her now bloodless fingers still clamped into his flesh. "Actually, I have your coming of age party to plan and I will be busy day and night for the next four months. I will be too busy to bring you here."

"I think I'm old enough to get here by myself."

"No you can't," she said with a detectably ominous undercurrent. "Remember your fainting spells."

The princess's put her hands on her hips and glared at the woman. "What fainting spells?"

A sudden chill came over the room.

The king rose quickly. "Tell me Oberin. Have you and your family been inside the Hall of Wonders?"


	6. Chapter 6

The king rose. Come, let me show you. We've repurposed the inner bailey and set up an exhibition of the moon technology we will be introducing to the kingdom soon. It is not to be missed."

We all rose and followed the king in the Hall of Wonders. Although it had no windows, projector screens had been put up to make it seem almost like a greenhouse, with windows that looked out into the vastness of outer space. Stars, planets, even comets shone out at us. I had seen this before from, a mooncraft, but it still took my breath away. It must have been nothing short of spellbinding to anyone who hadn't been outside the earth's orbit.

But our awe was replaced with discomfort when we saw the purple velveteen dress and long blood red curls running down the back of the woman in charge of the room. Endymion saw those red curls, blanched, and released the moon princess's hand. _Beryl. _The royal magician turned around revealing a plunging neckline, held in place in spots with tiny silver chains, and became even more uncomfortable than the rest of us.

I felt uncomfortable, since I hadn't realized she had returned from the moon before I did. I didn't think to check up on her the entire time I was there.

The prince felt uncomfortable, since he'd proposed to the moon princess without even breaking off the secret betrothal he had with Beryl.

I don't know why the treasurer and his family felt uncomfortable, but they clearly did. At first I thought it might have something to do with the low-cut dress she wore, but the treasurer's wife was the first of us to recover.

"Madam Beryl. What a delightful surprise. I see the king has put you to work entertaining."

"You know my court magician?" the king asked.

The treasurer's wife smiled with exaggerated sweetness. "Only in a professional capacity."

Beryl seemed painfully aware of her pariah status and my heart went out to her.

"Beryl, why don't you explain the wonders we have on exhibit here," the king said.

The moongirls shuffled their feet and looked at anything but Beryl. They didn't need their own technologies explained to them by an earthwoman. This was beyond awkward.

"I was just about to take a break to have some wine," Beryl said in a chilly voice. "I'm sure the moon princess could do a much better job of it in my absence. It is her technology after all. Excuse me."

She seemed cold about it, but I could see she was trembling. She walked out of the chamber with her head down. I released Venus's hand and followed after her down a corridor.

"Beryl," I called after her softly.

She turned and met my eyes, but kept walking out of the palace and into the garden, which was lit by trees hung with silk lanterns to cast decorative shapes of light on the merrymakers gathered on the stony paths between the flowers, herbs, and statuary.

I caught up with her at the sideboards of cakes and wine. "I like your gown."

"Thank you. My cleavage was such a hit on the moon that I've decided to dress like this all the time."

That was sarcasm, in case you couldn't tell.

"I wasn't aware you had returned," I said.

"Of course not," Beryl grabbed a glass of wine and drained it in one swallow before she reached for another. "You and Endymion were too busy screwing your way through the moon queen's court to think of me for even one second."

"I apologize most sincerely. I have no excuses, except that I thought you were too absorbed in your magic lessons with the moon queen to do much socializing."

Beryl paused, then looked me in the eye and smiled at me. "That white-blooded witch is a fake, you know? She gets all her powers from a crystal, so she couldn't teach me a thing about magic. I arranged to leave early."

"I understand completely," I said. "Had I known you were leaving, I would have asked to come with you."

Beryl laughed a conspiratory little laugh and touched my cheek. "Seek me out in the Hall of Wonders later tonight, my friend. Alone. I have a small favor to ask of you, but we'll need to talk in private." She took another glass of wine and walked in the direction of her personal chambers.

I rejoined the rest of the party in the Hall of Wonders, and Venus pressed herself up against my side as we watched as the princess tried to look authoritative and failed miserably.

"And this is what is known as a statis-box." She opened a glass box filled with flowers. "See this daisy?" she said picking up a flower and held it up to her nose. "This has been in this box for three months, but it's fresh as the day it was picked." She held it out for the others to pass around.

"Amazing," the treasurer said. "Simply amazing."

The princess smiled. "Think of the practical applications. Ice kept in one will never melt. Food kept in one will never spoil."

"I can think of another application," the treasurer said with a sly wink. "My wife can sleep in one, and then she won't get any more wrinkles."

His wife gave him a playful little punch on the shoulder. "Oh, stop it, you old rogue."

He grinned at her. "No. Think about it. We could make spa beds out of these and sell them as a beauty treatment. Think of all the money to made from aging beauties who want to stay fresh and pretty forever."

"Oh, no," the princess said. "You can't do that! If you put someone in one, they'll be dead in less than two minutes."

Mercury nodded. "It's true. All their biological functions will cease. If you put a living creature in there, it will be perfectly preserved, but it will cost it its life."

Ruby giggled. "Then you should put Zoisite in one!"

The treasurer and his wife frowned and gave her a warning look. "Ruby," her mother said. "That's not funny."

The girl looked hurt and confused, as if she didn't know that sort of talk wouldn't be permitted so far away from her dinner table.

The princess chuckled nervously. "Speaking of preserving beauty, this is something called a camera. It allows you to create a perfect portrait of anything, instantaneously, just by clicking a button. See." She tried to snap a picture of Zoisite, but he ducked behind his father. So she photographed his mother instead. She opened the camera and pulled out a photo and handed it to the treasurer while his family gathered around.

"Very pretty," the treasurer said.

"It's a miraculous likeness," the woman said, before she tore the photo in half and then into quarters and deposited them into a nearby trash bin.

The princess looked crestfallen. "It works using the same technology as phones and these projector screens all around us."

"What's a phone?" Ruby asked.

The princess looked at Venus, who shook her head. "Um, it's something I'm not supposed to talk about. But you get the idea. The camera works by recording a perfect image of something and projecting it somewhere very far away. We're going to build projector screens in every town so that the government can deliver news to the people directly instead of relying on messengers and town criers."

"But won't that terrify people?" Zoisite asked.

The princess blinked. "I don't understand."

"He assumes people will be frightened because they'll think it's the work of demons." The king explained.

"No, that's not what I meant at all," Zoisite said as if he weren't the king. "I mean people will be terrified because if they can use these to watch the government, they'll assume the government can watch them too. They'll think it's an act of tyranny."

The moongirls looked at one another without comprehension. "Why would anyone assume that?" Mercury asked.

The treasurer placed his hand on his son's shoulder. "Because people fear and mistrust whatever they don't understand, especially when it comes from an alien civilization."

"Yes, but our civilization is so much more advanced than your own," Mars said.

The treasurer nodded. "Yes. Exactly. You have envy and mistrust working against you already. If you intrude into the common people's daily lives it may frighten them into open revolt."

The princess looked downcast. "But I'm going to give this technology away for free, simply to help people."

"Nobody will understand that," the treasurer said. "Humans as a group are cowardly and selfish. When they see altruism, they assume it must be a prelude to something sinister."

"But…I'm marrying your future king," the princess said.

Zoisite nodded. "Exactly. They will think you are taking over our planet, so that you can enslave us."

Who were these people? Not that I disagreed with most of what they were saying, but damn they were morbid.

His mother just stood there with her lips pursed, watching over her husband and son like a bird of prey waiting for someone to attack her nest. She had kept silent the whole time. I'm sure she wanted us to think she was as uninterested in political theory as her daughter, but I had a feeling for who really ruled over that household.

"Ok, that's enough of that sort of talk," his mother finally said and tried the change the subject but the princess wasn't having it.

"When I give this technology to people, it will save a lot of lives. You don't think that will win them over?" the princess said weakly.

Zoisite shook his head. "If you want to win people over, you should smile a lot, say very little, dress elegantly, and appear as vacant-headed as possible until your first son is born. At that point you will have cemented your place as the people's queen, and then you can do whatever you want."

"Vacant-headed?" Venus said between clenched teeth and clutched my arm tighter. "Are you saying the princess should act dumb?"

Mars should have made a rude joke at this point, but she kept as quiet as the rest of us. That should give you an idea of how tense the mood was.

"Not dumb. Devoid of thought. She should be an empty vessel that all the women in the kingdom can pour their own personalities into." He regarded Endymion. "The prince is extremely handsome. A lot of girls will be inclined to hate her. But if they project themselves into her, they will think she's worthy of his love. In that way she will win the hearts of the people."

"So says the boy who doesn't have any friends," Ruby quipped.

An awkward silence followed.

"Aw," the princess touched Zoisite's arm. "I'd like to be your friend."

Zoisite didn't even smile. "You'll need to make sure nobody finds out about it. You shouldn't have friends either. Especially not friends that are boys. The people will want to believe you care for nothing and nobody except loving your prince. Even your guardians should seem like nothing more than ladies-in-waiting, attending to your daily functions while he occupies your every waking thought. "

That got a wicked smile out of Endymion.

"Oh, this is silly!" the king said. "Serenity, just be yourself. That sort of advice may apply to merciless social climbers, but Serenity is a genuinely sweet person. She has a way about her that can melt even the hardest of hearts," he turned to the exit. "Come, enough of this depressing prattle. Let's go out into the garden."

The boy seemed not to care, but treasurer looked as if he'd been branded by that 'merciless social climber' tag. He and his family broke away from our party and merged into the crowd almost as soon as we reached the garden.

The others had been here before but this was all new to Venus and Mars, who stayed close to my side and asked me for the names of all the different types of flowers and fragrant scented herbs.

Hell if I knew. I wasn't into botany.

The princess was more interested in the countless platters of tiny cakes. She announced she was going to try one of each and tell us what her favorite was. Jupiter and Mercury tried to talk her out of it, but she wouldn't be swayed. She tried as many as she could until she couldn't eat another bite, then waited a few minutes before she started eating them again. It was a mystery how she stayed so thin. The girl was an eating machine.

At last the girls found the hedge maze and decided to have a race, so I saw my opportunity to break away to talk to Beryl. I had to admit, I was a bit curious about this favor she wanted. As commonborn court officials, Beryl and I had always been fond of one another, even when we disapproved of the other's behavior. I suppose in some ways we were just too much alike.

But when I made my way back to the Hall of Wonders, she hadn't returned yet. Instead I found Zoisite. Alone.

He stood with his back to me and stared up into the projection of the starry sky with his hands clasped behind his back and a tragic expression on his face.


	7. Chapter 7

I resisted the urge to walk over to him and put my arms around his waist and draw him close to me, then nuzzle his neck while I stroked his hair and then turn him around and press him against me to feel his breath on my lips for a few tantalizing seconds before I –

Okay, enough of that. He wouldn't be an adult for another four months, so technically speaking, that would make me a pervert. And in my opinion, the type of men who would lie in wait for the next four months until his parents threw him a birthday party weren't that much better.

The rational part of my mind told me I should leave and come back later, while the predatory animal in me told me I may not get another chance to get him alone.

I walked up toward him.

"Beautiful isn't it?" I said. "All that darkness, stretching out forever?"

He kept looking at the stars. "Actually, I find it terrifying."

"And yet, here you are."

He sighed wistfully. "It makes my problems seem insignificant." Then he sighed and turned his gaze skyward. "I know what you're thinking—Poor little rich boy, all dressed in furs and jewels while millions of people starve. I wish I had his sorts of problems."

"I wasn't thinking that at all," I said. "There are plenty of things in this world that are far more unpleasant than starvation. You only feel hunger for the first couple days or so. Then it's not so bad."

He turned and gave me a startled look. I felt he wanted to say something, but he turned around and stared up the stars again. "I wouldn't know. Really. I'm just being a spoiled brat. I lead a very sheltered life. It's just a little too sheltered at times, if you know what I mean."

He sounded convincing. Maybe it was true. Or maybe he was an excellent liar and knew better than to trust someone he didn't know. I suspected the latter. A spoiled brat wouldn't have just stood there without making a sound while his mother clamped bruises into his arm.

Yet, even if he confided in me, there was nothing I could do about, so I knew better than to try to coax anything more out of him.

"The princess seems quite taken with you. If Endymion isn't careful, you just might steal her away from him."

"I'm not interested in girls," he said plainly.

I smiled. "You don't know what you're missing."

"I don't even want to know what I'm missing," he grinned. "I like men. Always have, always will. The princess should be concerned that I'd try to steal Endymion."

I had to laugh. "Now there's an amusing thought."

He smiled without effort now. "She's lucky he's not my type. I mean he's really good looking, and all that, but he's way too bitchy."

"If you insist," I said. "He's not exactly my type, either."

"Yes, I know. I've seen your type hanging onto you all evening, remember?" He twirled a lock of his hair between his fingers. "I do like the moongirls. They seem like a lot of fun. Especially the princess. She's a very nice girl."

"Though not terribly bright," I added.

"Oh, I think she's a lot smarter than she lets on. I'm not saying she could count past four with her mittens on, but I think this klutzy act of hers is all part of her gift for putting others at ease. I mean she is a princess, after all, but she seems so refreshingly normal. Like you could talk to her as an equal."

It was an interesting observation. "She has a way of other people feel important, the king is right about that."

"Sadly, that's a gift I just don't have." His smile faded and he lowered his eyes briefly before he went back to looking at the stars.

"She also has a gift for healing. She thinks your mother is lying about your fainting spells."

He looked at me again. There was a glimmer of excitement in his eyes. Hope? Or mischief? "She's right, you know. I've never had fainting spells. I've never tried to kill myself, either."

Now there was a disturbing non sequitur.

"Nobody said anything about you trying to kill yourself."

"They will." He gave me an impish smile. "When the fainting story isn't enough, she tells people I need to be locked in a room for several days at a time to keep from killing myself."

He must have seen my troubled frown, and mistook its meaning.

"The only reason I made mention of it is so when you do hear it, you'll remember it's a lie," he gave me a wink. "If there is one thing my family is good at, it's thinking ahead."

"I was more concerned about parents keeping you locked in a room for several days at a time."

I should have realized it would be a mistake to call his attention to that slip, since his smile became strained and voice became uneasy. "I tend to cause a lot of trouble and my parents are ridiculously overprotective."

"Overprotective? More like sadistic."

His smile vanished at once and his eyes were huge. He looked around to see if anyone heard me then lowered his voice. "It's not what you think. They don't abuse me or anything like that. It's just that there was a scary incident when I was little and they were afraid I'd been killed. I won't bore you, but if you're curious, you can ask your friend Madam Beryl. My parents went a little crazy after that, and now they are totally paranoid about my safety. It would be different if I had a brother to replace me, but they couldn't have any more children after Ruby. I'm their only male heir, and everywhere I go I end up causing trouble. I can't help it. I'm causing trouble for them right now."

"Oh, calm down," I said. "I wasn't going to tell anyone."

His breathing slowed, but he couldn't meet my eyes anymore. I liked this kid. A lot more than I was supposed to. I was determined to put him at ease. "I'm willing to bet when I was a teenager I caused far more trouble than you ever could."

He didn't say anything, but he did look at me and didn't look away, so I kept talking.

"I grew up in a one room hovel out in the middle of the wilderness, where the kingdom's law couldn't penetrate. I was the oldest of nine children. For as long as I could remember, my father beat my mother. The littlest thing would set him off. He'd take her outside, as if we couldn't hear her screams through the walls."

"Oh, wow," he said. "I'm sorry."

I nodded. "I used to lay awake at night, listening to those screams and wondering if this was what hell sounded like. Your father swearing and yelling while your mother screamed in pain and terror, frightening a bunch of babies into wailing all night long, while you were still too little to do anything about it. That's when I was still small enough to believe in fairytales like heaven and hell. When I was fifteen, I was finally big enough to do something about it, so he beat me, too."

I had the boy's full attention now. His eyes were shiny. I wasn't expecting that. The point of this story wasn't to make him feel sorry for me. Still, it was better than him thinking of me as a potential blackmailer. I smiled to show him how complete unhaunted I was by the past.

"Of course I didn't make it easy for him. He tended to pick his fights with me when he was drunk, so he got beat a lot more than I did. My mother seemed to like it that she had two men fighting over her. When I was little I thought she was the better parent. I used to think she was a good woman who had been unlucky enough to be saddled with a brutal drunk for a husband. Then he started leering at my oldest sisters, and my mother acted like they were intentional growing breasts because they were trying to seduce him.

"It was about that time I came to realize that despite the beatings, she loved him far more than she could love any of us. Still, when my father died, it startled me to see my mother sobbing over his body and screaming for him not to leave her alone with a house full of rotten kids. I was so disgusted, I couldn't stand to look at her anymore. I ran off to the city, lied about my age, enlisted in the army during the time of the Great War, and now here I am."

"That's horrible," Zoisite asked in a choked whisper.

"Not really," I said. "I started out life with less than nothing, and now I live in a palace. And I'm grateful for it, believe me, I'm grateful. I feel worse for you, since you already have everything, so there is nothing left for you to aspire to."

"Your father. How did he die?"

I looked up innocently. "Oh, he died in an accident."

"What sort of accident?"

"I accidently smashed his head in with an axe."

Zoisite gasped, then put both hands to his mouth to stifle his laughter.

I smiled roguishly. "Oh, you like that, do you?"

He sighed wistfully, but the laughter never left those expressive green eyes. "I wish we could have met when we were both fifteen. I have a feeling we could have helped each other quite a lot."

_If we were both fifteen, I could have helped myself to that beautiful body of yours._

Okay, I really needed to stop that.

"Just think. In four months you'll be an adult, so you'll be free to leave and start your life over and do whatever you want."

He narrowed his eyes. "You really think my parents are going let me leave because I'm an adult?"

The question was rhetorical. The tone in his voice made it pretty clear leaving home wasn't an option that was open to him.

"They can't stop you," I pointed out.

"Oh yes, they can," his face flushed. "They've got so much money they can do whatever they want. Close down shops. Pay people off. Make them regret the day they met me. They could buy up entire villages if they need to, just to keep me trapped. Trust me, I wouldn't even be able to sell my ass on the docks without them finding out about it and dragging me home. My only hope was to join the military, but I guess that's out, isn't it?"

He narrowed his eyes again. This question wasn't rhetorical.

I shook my head. "Endymion's right. You're far too small."

He closed his eyes and sighed. "This is it then, I'm stuck with them forever. Or until I marry some shrill-tongued countess my mother picks out for me so she can trade my pretty face for a title of nobility. Even then they won't leave me alone until I give them a litter of grandchildren. Which will be never, since I can't even kiss a girl on the mouth without wanting to vomit," he shuddered. "Heaven only knows what they'll do to me when they figure that one out. It'll probably kill them, if they don't kill me first."

He laughed a twisted little laugh. "I'm exaggerating, you know. But if I weren't, Ruby's little joke would be a lot funnier. They'd buy one of those glass coffins and keep me locked up forever. I can just imagine my father ordering one, complete with a decorative gold-trim dotted with big green gemstones to match my eyes. My mother would lead guests into the family crypt so she can show everyone how well behaved I'm being."

"Oh stop being so melodramatic," Beryl called out from the entrance. "No wait. You're a teenager. You're supposed to be melodramatic."

With Beryl approaching I had to lean in close to keep her from hearing. "Cultivate your friendship with the moon princess. Your parents may be among the richest on earth, but her mother is the most powerful woman in the galaxy. If Serenity wants to treat you favorably, there's not a damn thing they can do about it."

We looked up as Beryl approached and she gave him an affectionate smile.

"You little monster, are you aware your parents are in the garden looking for you? I told them you've probably just wandered off somewhere, but they're convinced you've been abducted. Your father is frantic, and your mother's talking to the guards about sealing all the exits."

He groaned. "They might have thought to look in here before they panicked."

"Yes, well, you know how your parents are."

Zoisite nodded at me. "See. I told you they were crazy. I'd better go out there and prove I'm still alive before they embarrass themselves too badly." He hurried off, then stopped and looked back at me. "Are you going to be at the princess' wedding planning party?"

"I might," I said.

He looked at me through his lashes. "Then I guess I might see you again."

I smiled as I watched him leave and when I looked back I saw Beryl scowling at me in open disapproval. "That kid is a troublemaker. He looks cute and innocent, but he's got serious problems. I'd keep my distance, if I were you."

"He seems interesting."

"Trust me. The last thing you need is for him to turn his problems into your problems. And yes, I've had to deal with his problems in the past. And yes, his parents have paid me not to talk about it, so don't bother asking for details."

If that was supposed to scare me, it didn't. I'd fought wars. There wasn't a whole lot that could scare me anymore. "You said you needed a favor from me?"

"Yes." She removed a stone silverfish pendant on a long leather strap from around her neck. "I want you to wear this for the next few days."

"Why?"

"Because you're my friend," she held it out to me.

"And you're a sorceress. So I'm not touching that thing until I know exactly what it will do to me."

"It doesn't do anything. It's just a stone pendant."

I didn't believe that for one second. If a woman was trying to get me to wear an amulet as a special favor to her, it had to be magical, or else a love token. I was certain it wasn't a love token. "Why would you want me to wear that if it's not magical?"

"If you must know, I did manage to learn a few tricks while I was on the moon. One of the most interesting is astral projection." She pulled an oblong glass vial from her pocket. "This potion will allow my soul to leave my body for a few hours at a time. But I can only travel a few hundred feet on my own. If you wear this lodestone it merely allows me to leave my chambers and go exploring."

"Exploring? As in exploring Endymion's bedchamber so that you can spy on him?"

She snorted and dropped the arm holding the amulet to her side. "So what if I am. He betrayed me. He broke things off and started courting the moon princess without so much as a goodbye. I think I'm entitled to some answers."

I disagreed. Not to mention the thought of Beryl's ghost following me around everywhere was a bit unnerving. Especially since I had a very sexually-minded girlfriend.

"Here is your answer, Beryl—whatever you had with him, it's over. You have to accept that. In fact, it never should have begun. You seduced Endymion when he was fifteen. You were an adult and he was a minor. That means you'll be stripped to the waist and whipped in public, in case you've forgotten. And if either the prince or the king decides the moon princess will be happier if you took him by force, that will be followed by death by hanging. You need to let this go Beryl, and be grateful that they let you keep both your job and your life."

Beryl trembled and wiped at one eye. "That's easy for you to say, you coldblooded bastard. You've never been in love. In fact I'll willing to bet you're incapable of loving anyone. If you were, you'd understand that I'd rather lose both my job and my life than have to look at him every day and pretend I don't feel anything while he plays kissing games with some emptyheaded blonde in pigtails."

"Then leave," I said.

She looked at me with eyes full of pain. I suddenly realized I was probably the closest thing she had to a friend in this world, and I just told her to go away.

"Beryl, I love you dearly, but you're asking me to commit treason."

She held out the amulet again with shaking hands. "So you won't do this for me?"

"Beryl, I don't know how to make this any clearer. No. I won't do this for you. Get over him. It was doomed from the beginning. You must have known that. You need to find a man your own age and stop chasing after princes."

She replaced the amulet around her neck. "I'll remember this. Don't think I won't. You'd better hope you never need a favor from me. Otherwise, I will make you realize just how cruel you are being right now."

"Beryl. Stop it. What you're planning is pure evil."

"And you've never done an evil thing in your entire life." She said before she stormed out.

There was nothing left to do now but join the moongirls out in the garden. I had to admit it was uplifting to be out in the fresh air surrounded by beautiful young women. Especially the one young woman with the red bow who tucked herself under my arm.

So beautiful. So uncomplicated. I'd never felt more grateful.

She gave me a quick peck on the lips. "So what's it going to be tonight? Your room? Or mine?"

"Yours," I said. I wanted to check it out while it was still clean enough to see the floor.


	8. Chapter 8

By the time I woke, Venus was already dressed. She had on a more casual version of the gown she wore the night before, and of course, she wore the red bow in her hair. She tossed my clothes to me as soon as she saw my eyes were open. "Get dressed," she said. "The king has invited you to breakfast in his private courtyard."

I groaned. Fifteen years of being shunted to the common areas and now two meals at the king's table in a row. I was definitely going places. Not places I particularly wanted to be, but important places nonetheless. "And how do you know this?"

She held up her forearm and pointed to her wrist phone.

"Oh right. Your slave bracelet."

"Speaking of which..." she pulled another out of her cleavage and strapped it onto my wrist. "Don't ever take this off. I can't get you another without going to the moon. Mercury has a roomful of these, but she claims she needs each and every one. Lose this one, and I will abuse my powers and blast you to within a inch of your life."

"How do I know the moonphone will even work here?"

She held up her forearm and pointed to her wrist phone.

"Oh, right." Damn. I eyed the epaulets on the silk coat of my dress uniform before pulling it on. Fortunately I wouldn't have to walk far to my room, since my formal wear was a little too fancy for daytime, and I'd never been a fan of undershirts. What a shame the princess didn't offer up the moon's instant changing outfits as one of her gifts to earth.

But if it only came in minidress form, I would have had to take a pass anyway.

As I led Venus to my room, a thought occurred to me. I waited until we entered my chambers and I closed the door before I brought it up. "Didn't you warn the princess Earthmen are not allowed to have phones?"

"Yes, but you're special."

"If I wear it in public, people will ask questions."

"Fine, keep it on the bedside table."

I was more than happy to comply. I changed into my black and indigo armor, and pinned on my red and black cape. When I turned around Venus was wearing an exact copy of my armor. Which looked far better over her womanly curves than it did on me. I stared in admiration.

"Too immodest by earth standards?"

I offered her my arm. "No, you look great. Let's go to breakfast."

The archway that led to the private courtyard was filled with the king's royal guards. Twice as many as usual. It seemed palace security had been ramped up considerably since the arrival of the princess. Not that I could blame the king. If anything were to happen to the moon queen's only daughter, the fallout would be galactic. Literally.

They were willing to let me through, but they stopped Venus.

"You're not on the list." The guards barred her from entering.

"She's with me," I said.

"I can't let her through unless she's on the list."

Endymion called out from the other side of the archway. "It's okay. Let her pass."

Even then they hesitated before stepping aside to let us enter.

The king's private courtyard was small but elaborate, with a mosaic of multicolored plants and shrubs. A pockfaced gardener with greasy hair worked in one corner, cutting away flowers at the first sign of wilt. Kitchen servants brought out platters of food, while the royal tasters tried a bite of everything. The princess wore a white dress with a childlike flower on the front done in yarn. She ate a slice of green melon, while Endymion watched her with fascination.

I hoped to make this quick so I could head to the clerks' office to collect the work assignments that piled up since I've been away.

"I have excellent news for you, Kunzite," the king said with a big smile. "You've been promoted."

Endymion clapped me on the arm. "Congratulations."

"Promoted?" I asked. I couldn't see how. I was already the top man.

"To head of the palace guard. I've decided your skills would be of better use in the capital, while Lt. Commander Nephrite assumes your duties in the field."

"Does Nephrite know of this promotion?" I asked.

"Not yet," the king said.

"Good. Because I respectfully decline."

The king and prince exchanged looks. The princess continued to chew her slice of green melon.

"You decline?" the king asked as if he hadn't heard me properly.

"I'm a warrior, not a courtier. If you feel a promotion is in order, I believe Lt. Commander Nephrite would be better suited for palace life."

"Out of the question," the king said. "The job must go to someone the princess knows and trusts. And that means you."

Great. I'd gone from being trapped in the moon palace to trapped in the Earth palace. Damn Endymion and his raging hormones. If I hadn't agreed to play moon chaperon, none of this would be happening.

The princess yawned and slumped in her seat a little, glancing at the flowers and paying no attention to the conversation. Endymion leaned closer. "You tired, babykins?"

She gave a sleepy nod.

"Want to go look at the flowers?"

Her nod was a little more enthusiastic this time.

"Let's go look at the flowers."

They got up and headed to a flowering shrub that was buzzing with bees. You had to admire a girl who knew enough not to be afraid of bees. Or maybe she didn't know enough about bees to be afraid of them. She wasn't from earth after all. At that time a particularly attractive serving woman appeared, carrying out a tray of fruit. I watched her for a bit since she was rather beautiful, with long jet black hair and a serene face. Not quite as beautiful as Zoisite, of course, but then again, who is? She lacked his fire, but she made up for it with poise, as she set down the tray and paused to admire some daffodils. It seemed I wasn't the only one that took notice of her. The gardener in the corner blushed deep red and picked up some of the flowers he had pruned.

Venus tapped me on the shoulder and when I looked at her, she gave me a scowl. I smiled at her and patted her knee.

"The princess doesn't need protecting," I said. "She's as strong as I am, and she has four guardians who are just as powerful. I'd only be in their way."

"Yes, but her guardians are all beautiful young women," the king said.

Venus' hackles went up. "So?"

"So, you don't look very imposing, my dear," the king said. "I have no doubt you'll be up to any challenge, but my subjects will underestimate you, and that could be dangerous. Meanwhile Kunzite can be very intimidating to look upon. You will still keep your role. Kunzite's job will be to stand at your side and act as a deterrent."

Great. I was being _promoted_ from general, to security guard, to ceramic attack dog. My future was getting bleaker by the second. "Find someone else," I said. "I have no intention of becoming useless."

The king sneered as he munched on his food. He wasn't used to such insubordination from me. However the worst he could do was fire me altogether, and that seemed like one of the better options at the moment.

The pockmarked gardener gathered up a bouquet of flowers and gave them to the beautiful serving woman. I thought she'd decline, so as not to encourage him. Instead she brought it to her nose, inhaled deeply, then extracted a few choice blossoms. She gave them back to the gardener and pointed to the princess.

Endymion paid no attention but the princess noticed this and grinned and stood up straight as the gardener approached with the bouquet. The morning sunlight sent up a silver gleam from the stems behind his hand.

I rose to my feet. "You! Stop right there!"

The prince and princess stared at me in surprise, but the gardener merely quickened his pace. Faster than thought, my throwing blades were in my hands and I sent them flying at the man's midsection. The princess screamed and covered her face, as his blood sprayed on her white dress. The others stared at me as if I had lost my mind, until the flowers fell from his hand, revealing a large needle tipped with a green fluid.

Venus leapt to her feet as well. "You! Stop right there!" She echoed. This time at the serving woman who had held the fruit platter. Damn. I had totally overlooked her potential role in this. The woman tried to flee, but the guards who now flooded into the courtyard blocked her only avenue of escape. She turned to us with her serene smile, held her arms out at her sides, then dissolved into a burst of rainbow colored sparks.

"What...who...how the hell did she do that?" Venus shouted.

The guards recovered and rushed to the bleeding body of the fallen gardener. He was still alive, of course. I hadn't meant to kill him.

"Get him to a doctor and once he is well enough, bring him to the dungeons for questioning." The king shouted.

Then he turned to me. "You were saying something about being useless?"

I sighed. Any one of us could have spotted the very first assassination attempt against the moon princess. Why did it have to be me?


	9. Chapter 9

Beryl confirmed the needle had been coated with a deadly poison that would have killed the moon princess many times over. Two days passed before the gardener was well enough to put on the rack. In the meanwhile he refused to say anything.

Once the torturer began his work, we quickly learned why.

"Her name is Binah," the king informed us as we sat around the table in his war room. "He claims they are lovers. She told him they could marry, but only if he killed the princess."

The princess had been moved to a safehouse that not even Endymion and I knew the location of. The remaining moon girls, as well as Endymion chose to attend this meeting.

"Did he say why she wanted the princess dead?" Venus asked.

Endymion shook his head.

"Also, what happened to this Binah woman?" Venus asked. "How did she explode like that?"

"She didn't explode," the king said. "She teleported away. According to the gardener, she can teleport at will."

"That would explain how she got past the guards with a poisoned needle," Mars said.

"I thought Earthpeople didn't have teleportation," Mercury said.

"We don't," I said. "So that leaves us with some big questions. Like, what exactly is this Binah woman, and where is she from?"

I looked around at the moon girls, but they shrugged.

"I could check my computers, but we don't know of anything like this," Mercury said.

"What else has this gardener said," I asked the king.

"Very little," Endymion said, his eyes filled with fury. "He only told us he and this Binah had been engaged in a flirtation that evolved into a tryst, and then she told him they could only continue if someone killed the moon princess. He didn't know why. He doesn't seem to have a high pain threshold. He gave us her name and their meeting place at once, so I doubt he is holding anything back."

"So where did these trysts take place?" Venus asked.

"At an inn on the outskirts of the capital called the Viper's Nest," Endymion said.

"The Viper's Nest?" I asked. "That's a well known headquarters for the Grand Design."

"The Grand Design?" Venus asked. "What is that?"

"It is the criminal underground," Endymion said.

The king nodded his head. "The Grand Design a massive group of anti-government anarchists. Its leadership is largely made up of low-lifes—pimps, slavers, drug dealers, pirates, kingpins, and smugglers... They meet in taverns like the Viper's Nest and get drunk and talk about how they are going to overthrow the monarchy."

"Whoa, let me get this straight," Mars said, her cheeks flushed scarlet with anger. "You have a band of lowlife anarchists, on at the very outskirts of the capital, plotting your eventual downfall, and you know all this, and you're not doing anything about it?"  
The king nodded. "It's not that simple. In a kingdom as large and as unruly as Elysium, an organization like the Grand Design becomes a necessary evil."

"Why?" Jupiter asked.

"Several reasons," the king said. "First and foremost, when all the major criminals in the region are organized into a group that has rosters and weekly meetings, it makes it easy to spy on them."

"Secondly, they are woefully inept," Endymion continued. "The inner circle works at such cross-purposes they never manage to accomplish much of anything."

"Third," I said. "It makes the malcontents feel as if they have a voice, so they are less inclined to take individual action against the government."

"Fourth," the king said. "They take out their competing criminals far faster than we ever could."

Mars smirked. "Not to mention that when the Grand Design is made up of the worst scum on Earth, it makes the monarchy look good in comparison."

The king gave her a wry smile. "There is that too," he conceded.

"So what are we going to do about it?" Jupiter asked.

The king sighed. "We have no direct evidence the Grand design was involved in any way. However, even if they are uninvolved in these current events, I will no longer allow them to function so close to the palace. I've recalled Lt. Commander Nephrite from the field," the king said. "He should arrive in a couple of days and has been ordered to lead Kunzite's men as they clean out every safe haven for the Grand Design within twenty miles of the capital. Kunzite will remain with you girls to ensure your safety."

Jupiter took umbrage with this. "We GIRLS don't need Kunzite looking after us. We are perfectly capable of looking out for each other. Isn't that right Mercury."

Mercury blushed and nodded slightly.

The king inclined his head. "I intend no offense, but there is always a chance that someone will try to attack one of you to draw the princess out of hiding. You are unfamiliar with earth customs, so you may need Kunzite to warn you of any dangers you might otherwise overlook. From this moment forward, none of you are to leave the palace without bringing Kunzite along as an escort to accompany you."

The girls sulked.

"Kunzite is hereby ordered not engage in combat, except when initiated by the enemy, and only in your direct defense." The king looked at me. "Have I made myself clear, Kunzite?"

I nodded and didn't say anything. I had plans of my own, but I didn't want them open for debate.

"Does anyone have any other business to discuss?" the king asked.

We did not, so the meeting was adjoined. The other moongirls grumbled and went to the stairs but Venus held onto my arm as we walked out.

"Want to have some fun?" I asked her as soon as we were alone.

"What kind of fun?" she asked.

"The dangerous kind."

Her brows lifted with her smile. She rested her head on my shoulder and batted her eyes at me. "Care to take me out to a tavern and buy me a drink?"

I smirked. "You've read my mind."

%

Venus changed her costume into a slinky red and black dress, the skirt slit high on one side. I didn't even bother to change out of my cape and armor before we entered the Viper's Nest. Needless to say, I got a lot of stares. Not admiring stares either. More like "doesn't this royal prick realize he's just crossed the threshold to his own death" types of stares. All from greasy, gap-toothed men whose hands had moved to the hilts of their swords.

They were giving Venus looks as well. Not admiring looks either. More like "don't feel left out, sugar, we have big plans for monarchist-screwing whores like you" sorts of stares.

The owner walked up to me and spat on the floor. "Kingsman, you've got balls of steel coming in here all alone."

I sat at a bench and pulled Venus onto my lap where she cuddled up against me. "I'm not alone, I'm here with my lady."

He looked her up and down and then gave a dismissive scoff. "What do you want?"

"I'll have a beer, if you please, and if anyone spits in it, I will smash your skull into splinters.

He slapped the bottom of a girl with spaced-out eyes and a red rash on her flat chest. "Go get him a beer and don't spit on it."

She wasn't pretty at all, this one. All zombie-faced with stringy hair, skinny arms and legs, and flat chest over a tubby waist. Not that it mattered if she was pretty, since she was clearly underaged and drugged out of her mind, which made me want to kill him then and there. She gave an absent nod then walked to the bar. I guess she was too doped up to think of spitting in it, but I watched her anyway as she drew the beer from the tap.

"I understand you have a woman named Binah staying at this inn," I said.

The proprietor shook his head. "Never heard of her. I don't know anything about that, and even if I did, I wouldn't tell you anything, palace scum."

I smirked. "Surely you must have noticed her. Lovely face, jet black hair. Far too elegant looking for the likes of this place?"

"I have no idea who you're talking about."

"That's a shame," I gestured around at the seedy pack of onlookers who never took their hands off their sword. "I was hoping we could keep things cordial."

The girl handed me the mug of beer. She started to shamble away, but I grabbed her shoulder.

"Wait. How old are you?"

"I'm twenty-two," she said in a mechanical voice. Her eyes looked dead the whole time she spoke. Typical slavegirl. She was lucky I came in expressly to cause trouble.

"Twenty-two?" If this girl was older than fifteen, I was the moon princess.

She nodded, robotically. "I look very young for my age."

She didn't even have lines on her forehead when she frowned. Nineteen would have been a dubious answer, but twenty-two was a bold enough lie to pass without remark. Most of the time, anyway. "Quick. Tell me. What year were you born?"

She blinked stupidly then looked at her master with terror in her eyes. "Sorry… I…don't know...I...mean..."

I steered her around the bench and drew my sword, all the while keeping Venus perched on my lap. "Go sit in the corner and keep your head down. It's about to get ugly in here."

The innkeeper laughed and gestured behind him as twenty other men drew their swords as well. "You cocky bastard. You really think you are good enough to defeat a score of us at once?"

I pushed Venus from my lap. "Not at all. But my girlfriend is."

Venus took the hint and her dress expanded and contracted back into her sailor costume. "VENUS LOVE ME CHAIN"

The girl screamed and dove under the table and I sat there and leaned on my swords and drank my beer as Venus flogged the room into a mess of screaming men and splintered furniture. True to my orders from the king, I was ready to jump in at the first sign of danger to Venus, but she was never in any danger. Toward the end of the fight the girl peeked out from under the table and I gave her a pat on the top of the head. Within minutes Venus was the only one left standing.

I watched as she transformed, panting and sweaty, back into her previous attire.

I stood up, "You might have spared some for questioning."

She rolled her eyes at me. "Fine. Next time you fight all twenty men, and I'll just sit there and goad them into attacking you."

The girl crawled out from under the table and smiled up at Venus with big, worshipping eyes. Venus helped her to her feet. "What's your name, honey?"

"Honey is good enough," she said in a normal voice. "I wanted a new one."

"Do you have a family?"

She shook her head, her eyes less dazed than before. "Not one I care to return to."

"We'll take her back to the palace with us," I said. "I'm sure the king can find a home for her." I looked around at the wreckage. "One Grand Design hideout down, about fifty left to go."

"Wait," the girl said to Venus and tugged her sleeve before we could steer her outside. "Don't you want to know about Binah and her plans to assassinate the moon princess?"

We both stopped short.

"You know who Binah is?" Venus asked, kneeling to eye level with the girl.

The girl's eyes became almost lucid. "She comes in here all the time. She's one of the Grand Design's inner circle. They hold their meetings right in front of me because they don't care what I hear."

"Do know know what sort of creature she is?"

"She's human, just like us."

"But she's able to teleport," Venus said.

The girl nodded. "I know. That's new. She couldn't teleport a month ago, but she traded her soul for special powers. She has a master. I don't know who or what he is, but she said if we sacrifice our souls and do him a big enough favor, he will teach us how to teleport and grant us wishes. He's already done it for some of her friends. But it has to be a really big favor. Like killing the moon princess."

"Has anyone said why they want the moon princess dead?" I asked.

"No, except it has something to do with Binah's new friend. Also they might be looking for someone called Shula the Deathbringer."

"Who is Shula the Deathbringer?" Venus asked.

The girl shrugged. "I don't know. From the way they talk, she's a female assassin. Or a very skilled courtesan. But with a name like Deathbringer, I'm guessing she's not a courtesan. When the gardener Binah seduced failed to kill the moon princess, they made fun of Binah, and one of the men suggested they seek out Shula the Deathbringer to do a proper job of it. The others thought it was a fine idea, but they weren't exactly sure where she was, or if she'd want to talk to them. From what I could gather, Shula the Deathbringer is not part of the Grand Design, but she is very good at what she does."

"Anything else we should know?" I asked after a long pause.

"Maybe. These men kept a bunch of papers in a safe. I know where the key is so I'll go get them."

She scampered into a back office and Venus smiled. "Oh, the king is going to love this. I'll bet he's going to find her a really good home."

"Are you kidding?" I said. "He'll probably give her a title for this, as well as a high paying job in the intelligence corps."


	10. Chapter 10

We returned from the Viper's Nest to discover the other moon girls were furious at us, but only because they had not been invited to come along. Even the sweet and shy bookworm Mercury seemed hungry for combat. So we brought them along on all the raids after that. After all, I had many faults, but chauvinism wasn't one of them. They had as much of a right to defend of their princess as any two-silver-a-day soldier. Thanks to their queen, nobody understood better than I did what it felt like to be shunted to the sidelines purely on the basis of gender and planetary origin.

The men of the Grand Design doubled over in laughter when they saw my new army marching into their hideouts in order of height, with shy little Mercury in front with her blue streaked hair and armor to match, followed by Venus in gold and orange armor, mars in black and blood red, and Jupiter, who wore the sexiest armor she could find to draw attention from her towering height. I followed them in my standard armor and fluttering cape. The men screamed out lewd catcalls and I didn't even bother to smirk. The laughter and catcalls stopped as they realized we could take down an entire room in seconds, without suffering so much as a bruise or a hangnail.

It turned out these young women worked remarkable well as a team. Especially Jupiter and Mercury, who were able to take out a room full of enemy combatants without actually harming any of them. Every battle was the same. Mercury would lead off with a disorientating fog, which Jupiter would then electrify to bring the men to the floor. Venus and Mars' provided cover for the rest of us since their attacks tended to be more lethal. I simply looked imposing, barked out advice if it was needed, and lead the impounding and interrogation of the prisoners, which by and large I would have done as a battlefield commander anyway.

When the king found out how we had circumvented his orders, he wasn't pleased. But unlike the moon queen, he cared too much about appearances to press the issue once they reminded him they were not his subjects and therefore didn't need his permission to do anything. The only person he ruled over was me, but the king was wise enough to realize these girls would conduct their raids with or without me, and my absence would only increase their risks of making a dangerous mistake. So he lifted all restrictions from me and now I could join the fighting in earnest.

All in all, life was good. Fighting alongside beautiful women all day, romancing Venus all night. We were moving through the Grand Design like winter wheat. We learned what we could with each new raid, though nothing matched the treasure trove of information we gained at the Viper's Nest that first day. I suffered from wanderlust, of course. Back in those days I never could bear to stay in one place for more than a few weeks at a time. Yet I could almost get used to living life on my own terms, with a beautiful girlfriend at my side, leading an elite fighting force, without having to break up their drunken fistfights or fending off Nephrite's thinly veiled grabs at power. As much as I wanted to resume my prior duties, for the short term, life couldn't be any better.

So why was I still thinking about Zoisite?

I found myself missing him, and wondering what he was up to. I'd never met anyone like him. I guessed he must have been sent to his room for a few days for wandering away from his parents at the party, so I pictured him alone in a stone tower, sewing beads on the front of a coat on a dressmakers form just to keep himself occupied. Granted, his room was probably the size of a market plaza, with many of the same comforts, but I prefered to think of him in a tower with a four-poster bed, a tapestry on the wall, and little else in the way of furnishing.

I had a dream about him. This dream took place in a long forgotten festival in a faroff time. In the dream he took the form of a girl in a silk dress with a garland of flowers in her hair. Her hips were slim and her chest was nearly flat. A less ethereal girl might have looked boyish, but she was a nymph among milkmaids. . I could tell this Zoisite was a girl only because her lips were fuller and her torso less broad. Otherwise, as a girl he looked the same, yet not quite as beautiful, though I wouldn't have expected that.

I saw her through the eyes of a foreign prince, the ninth in line, so in no danger to inherit. She was a young maiden, already betrothed to another man, a friend of her father's, twice her age. But the springtime festival was a time of flirtation. The prince presented her with a single rose and asked if he might be allowed to court her. She blushed deep red and looked away, as if his advances were unwelcome. But then she took the flower, stood on her toes, and gave him the faintest of kisses, a mere brushing of the lips, before backing away with a nervous giggle and running away.

When I woke, I wanted to send Zoisite a gift.

I was halfway to the clerks' office before I realized how ridiculous and inappropriate that would be.

"Have you found anything about Shula the Deathbringer?" I asked the court's research librarian as she gave me a long list of potential leads for us to investigate.

"Certainly, but you will have to be a little more specific. There are currently at least sixteen assassins who call themselves 'Shula the Deathbringer'"

"Why so many?" Shula wasn't a figure from any mythology I knew of, nor was Shula a common name.

She placed a book on the counter and opened to a colored woodcut of a babyfaced young woman, dressed in buckskin vest and trousers, with straight chin-length black hair with a single thin red braid near her bangs. She had a dagger in each hand. The artist demonstrated her flexibility by drawing her in several poses, the most impressive showed her bent back double with one foot poised toward the sky. "The original Shula was a master of ninjitsu who preyed on wayward husbands."

"An avenging angel? Or a manhater?" I asked.

"Neither, according to the dozens of young men who served as her acolytes. They shared her bed without jealousy and their loyalty crossed the border into fanaticism. She developed quite a reputation as a folkhero, but they confess it was only because she liked a physical challenge. In fact, it was they who put this book together."

The book didn't show any wear or yellowing of the pages. I flipped to front and checked the date of publication. It was published only seven years earlier.

"So what makes you think the Grand Design is not looking for the original?"

"Because the original Shula the Deathbringer died nearly a quarter century ago."

This meant the original Shula was either slightly too old or entirely too dead. Still I had to ask. "Died? Or faked her death to go into hiding?"

"Died," the librarian said with certainty, and flipped to a woodcut of a well-dressed but severe looking blonde.

"Who is that?"

"The kept mistress of one of the men Shula killed. She lured Shula onto a bridge to discuss business. Shula was ambushed by ten men, beaten with clubs, and her body was tossed into a shallow stream below."

"She could have floated downriver and swam to the shore."

"She did float downriver, and she did swim to the shore. That's where she died."

She flipped to a woodcut of a howling adolescent cradling her soaked and shattered body in his arms while other weeping boys stood in the background.

"She managed to drag herself about ten feet onto the bank, which was where her followers found her corpse."

"And we know for a fact they told the truth?"

The librarian nodded. "There were many, many eyewitnesses. Not only that, these boys weren't very subtle in their grief. They went on a rampage, murdering anyone remotely affiliated with her death. Most of her young acolytes were rounded up and hanged. As the nooses were placed over their heads they would yell out 'Shula. I gladly give my life to avenge you!' Since then, there here has been no resurgence in murders, and the surviving members of her band either married or moved away.

"The other Shulas are clearly imitators who knew little to nothing of the real woman other than rumor and the trademark red braid, which they all wear." She closed the book and pushed to toward me. "You should read through this anyway if this assassin they are looking for is a copycat."

I took the book, but I figured they wouldn't do much good. The Grand Design wanted to hire a copycat assassin with a red braid to kill the most carefully guarded woman on the planet? Surely they wouldn't be that obvious.

As I turned to leave a young postal clerk with long dark hair called out. "Commander Kunzite, wait. I have a letter for you."

He held out of square of vellum stationery stamped with the treasurer's house seal in red wax. I could only think of two explanations. Either the treasurer had heard of my 'promotion' and wanted to be the first to toady up for influence, or else it was a love letter from his son. I certainly hoped it was a love letter from his son, but recognized that was entirely too improbable. I thanked the clerk and turned to leave.

"I was instructed that you have to read it here."

Oh?

"Are they expecting a reply?"

The clerk smiled and rested his arms on the counter. "Just read the letter."

I sighed, broke the seal, and scanned to bottom to check the signature.

~Zoi~

My heart raced a little. Was it a love letter after all? No. It couldn't it be. Even if he could smuggle such a thing past his parents, why would he insist I read it in front of a palace clerk?

Oh well, enough with the guessing games. I unfolded the letter.

Dear Kunzite,

I am writing to say that it was a great honor to meet you and your beautiful fiancé at the king's party. I mean no disrespect, so I hope that you will not be offended if I tell you how captivated I was by her lovely blue eyes. They are the exact color of some gemstones I purchased some time ago but never found a use for. Green being a more flattering shade on me. When I came home I decided to put them to use by fashioning them into a gift for her. It was only when I was nearly finished that I realized how inappropriate it would be for a man like me to give gems to another's chosen fiancé. Having no use for it, I decided to finish it anyway and offer to you so you might give it to her. Or else throw it out. Whatever you decide.

Refuse it and I'll understand.

With only the upmost respect,

~Zoi~

I couldn't help but laugh at his audacity. Refuse it and I'll understand? The sly little minx. Just minutes before I'd dismissed the idea of smuggling some token of affection to him, but I couldn't think of any possible way to do so without raising eyebrows. Meanwhile, HE was courting ME like I was some timid country maiden. Granted, that's not how it looked. Anyone who confiscated the gift would take the letter at face value and pity him a little for his ill-fated attraction and youthful exuberance. Because they wouldn't know his parents watch him like a hawk. And the thought of kissing a girl on the mouth made Zoisite ill.

Of course I could have been wrong. A part of me knew I was reading too much into it, but the rest of me was too amused to think I wasn't.

I held out my hand to the clerk and he handed me a little envelope sewed of black velvet. I reached in a pulled out a ponytail holder. An oval of black leather with a stylized twig of ebony pierced through the edges. It was quite lovely, very sweet and feminine, certainly better than that tired red bow she always wore. The leather was decorated with swirls of silver and blue gems, the largest stones were indeed the same color as Venus's eyes. But some of the gems were lighter, almost bordering on silver.

I smirked.

"Very nice, I think she'll like it," I told the clerk as he admired it over my shoulder. "I will need some time to formulate a proper reply."

I left the clerk's office in a lighthearted mood. A challenge had been issued, the duel had been declared. Now I HAD to find something to send him.


	11. Chapter 11

The girls were at the practice field teaching themselves archery. Venus and Jupiter were fairly good at it. Mars struggled a bit and blamed it on the bow. Venus came running when she saw me and threw her arms around my neck and gave me a long kiss.

Mercury walked over when she saw the book in my hand. "Shula the Deathbringer," she read the title upside-down and sideways without difficulty. "So you found a biography? Give it to me and I'll scan into my main server and run through my neural networks to do a key concept search."

I had no idea what any of that meant, so I handed her the book, only to have it snatched away by Mars who flipped through the pictures. "Just look at little Miss Nastypants and her sassy red braid. Not exactly subtle as assassins go, is she?"

"I wondered if the two of you might be related."

Mars glowered at me as she gave the book back to Mercury.

"At least we know what she looks like so we can keep an eye out for her," Jupiter said.

"The Shula we are looking for is a copycat," I said. "The original Shula died thirty years ago."

"Is it possible she's undead?" Mars asked.

An interesting question. I had to think for a bit. "I suppose it's not impossible, but it is highly unlikely. If she's a vampire she wouldn't have survived the daylight. If someone reanimated her as a zombie or a ghoul, her mind would be gone, and that would render her useless as an assassin. Ghosts and wraiths as a rule stay in one area. This Shula died hundreds of miles from here, so it would take weeks if not months for someone to contact her."

"Unless they were able to teleport," Mercury said.

Damn. Nothing got past these girls. While, clearly, I was slipping. "In any event, she won't look exactly like the girl in those woodcuts."

"If I have something of hers I can attempt to contact her spirit in the afterworld. If she responds, then we'll know for sure," Mars said.

I found that dubious. Especially since I didn't believe in the afterworld. "We don't have anything of hers. We don't even know if Shula was her birth name."

Mercury leafed through the book. "We should all study this. If we can't go by appearances we should at least know her habits."

"How boring." Mars groaned. "Is studying your answer to everything?"

Mercury ignored her. She sat on a bench and started reading.

Venus took hold of my arm rested her head against me. "So what do you suggest we do today? More hideouts?"

"I thought we might investigate the market square, so you girls could get some shopping in."

"Oh, yes!" Mars jumped up and down and cheered. "I love shopping."

Speaking of which," I gave Venus the black velvet envelope. "A gift arrived for you this morning."

Mars and Jupiter hovered as Venus took out the jeweled clip and let out a delighted little squeal.

She held it up so that the sunlight made the blue gems shimmer. "Oh, my god, Kunzite. This is so wonderful. I love it."

Mars chuckled and clapped me on the back. "That's so funny. Just the other day, I was complaining to Venus that you never give her any presents, and now here you are, buying her jewelry."

"Actually, it's not from me. It's from Zoisite."

Mars' chuckling and clapping stopped abruptly. "Um, I… well..."

Venus' brows rose. "So this is from Zoisite, and not you?"

"Correct," I said.

"You had nothing to do with it?" she asked in a sweet voice.

I nodded and she giggled. "Oh, good. Because I hate it."

"What?" Jupiter said in bafflement. "Why?"

"It's ugly. Send it back," Venus said. I wish I could say she did so out of spite or jealousy. It would certainly make me feel better about the horrific manner in which I broke her heart. But I don't think Venus had a spiteful or jealous bone in her body.

"Huh? What do you mean it's ugly?" Mars said. "You didn't think it was ugly a minute ago."

"That's because I thought Kunzite picked it out and I didn't want to hurt his feeling."

Mars snatched it from her hand. "Look at this gorgeous thing. All sparkly and elegant." She tossed it back to Venus. "I swear you have no taste."

Venus shrugged. "I prefer citrus colors. Besides, we mustn't encourage him. It's obvious he has a thing for you."

You, meaning me, of course.

"Oh, really?" I asked with as much disinterest in my voice as I could muster.

Venus nodded. "We all saw the way he kept stealing glances at you whenever your back was turned."

"Oh?" I was glad to hear it, of course, but I wasn't going to let her know that.

She giggled. "The poor kid has got it bad. This ponytail holder is just his way of crawling into bed with us."

Now there was an interesting visual. "He's too young for that sort of thing."

Venus let out an exaggerated gasp and slapped my arm. "Not to mention the fact he's male!"

"The male part I can work with, the too young part, I can't."

Venus kept giggling. Clearly she thought I was joking.

"What do you mean he's too young?" A tiny mouse voice asked behind us. I turned and saw Mercury sitting on the bench with the book open on her lap and a faint flush on her cheeks. "He's older than I am."

"You're too young for this sort of thing, too," I told Mercury.

"I am not," Mercury said.

"The age of consent on Earth is nineteen," I informed her.

"Huh? That old!" Jupiter said.

"On the moon, it's fourteen," Venus said.

"Fourteen?" I said. "That's way too young."

Mars narrowed her gaze at me. "So you're telling us you didn't lose your virginity until you were almost twenty?"

Okay, she did have a point there. Not that I was going to admit it. "Well...I developed early…"

"Oh come on," Venus said. "Let's hear all the details."

"No. That's…none of your business."

She winked. "I'll bet you were a lot closer to fourteen than nineteen."

"Are you kidding?" Mars said. "Knowing the sort of man Kunzite is, he was already screwing grown women when he was twelve."

"I'm not having this conversation with any of you." The three older girls were having quite a laugh at my expense, while Mercury had already focused back on her book. "Look…it was a different time and place...if I could go back, I'd do things differently..."

"Ha," Mars said. "The only thing different was that you were a horny teenager back then, and not the old guy casting judgement."

I let them laugh themselves out until Venus sighed and put the ponytail holder back into the envelope which she gave to me. "Here, send this back to Zoisite and tell him thanks, but no thanks."

"I can't send it back," I said.

"Why not?" Venus asked.

"Because, on Earth, rejecting a gift is the same as rejecting the person who sent it to you."

"So what am I supposed to do with it?" Venus asked.

"Anything you want. Except you can't send it back without insulting him."

She crossed her arms and gave me a sideways look. "So it would be better for me to throw it in the trash than return it so he can give it to someone who might appreciate it?"

I nodded.

"Earthmen...That's so stupid."

I should have taken umbrage at the slur, but she did have a point.

Jupiter smirked. "I like it a lot. It's sexy as hell. I'd take it off your hands, but I look better in green."

"Can I have it?" a tiny mouse voice asked.

We looked over at Mercury, who sat and blushed with the book on her lap.

"What would you do with it?" Mars scoffed. "Your hair isn't even long enough for a ponytail."

Mercury blushed furiously. "I was thinking of putting a cord through the holes and wearing it as a bracelet. Blue is my color after all, and if you're just going to throw it away…" She lowered her eyes and blushed some more.

I did my best to keep a straight face. She had a crush on him, the poor sad little thing. Zoisite and Mercury? Now there was a funny thought. I've always had a soft spot in my heart for Mercury, even after I had my soul warped, but the thought of a fiery beauty like Zoisite with a meek little bookworm like her? It was just farcical. Both were fierce and smart, but in completely different ways. Maybe they could be friends. But anything more than that?

Not likely. Even if he liked girls in that way, she'd bore him to death within a week.

Venus took the packet from me and handed it to her. "Here you go. Enjoy."

Mercury slipped it into her pocket. She didn't even bother closing her book as Venus slid her hand into mine and we all walked to the market plaza, which made a maze of brightly painted stalls and pavilions near the shadow of the palace.

"It's says here that Shula the Deathbringer never backed down from a job. Once she accepted an assignment, the target would be dead within two weeks. She never called off a hit. Even if the people who hired her changed their mind, which happened quite often."

"That's good to know," Jupiter said.

"Furthermore, she had a 100% success rate," Mercury continued. "The target could lock himself in a pantry, post fifty guards outside, and she'd still find a way to kill him within the two weeks, all without getting caught."

Mars rolled her eyes. "If she was such hot stuff, how come she's dead right now?"

Mercury turned to the back of the book and read silently for a while before answering. "She always showed up for these meeting with a handful of her most loyal male followers. The woman who had her killed lured her away from them by claiming she had something of a very personal and embarrassing nature to disclose, and insisted that they speak at the center of a bridge so she could be certain they wouldn't be overheard. That's where the woman had her own men lying in way."

"Sounds like she's the one the Grand Design should be looking to hire," Mars said.

Mercury read some more. "She died in an especially brutal manner shortly after the death of Shula."

"Brutal?" Jupiter asked.

"Strangled, skewered, and then burned up. And from all appearances, she was alive during all of it."

"That makes sense," I said, scanning the approaching carts for a gift for Zoisite. Venus kept hold of my hand but turned back to face Mercury.

"So if this copycat is following the same patterns she will strike within two weeks of being hired by the Grand Design," Venus said.

"Except we don't know when, or even if, the Grand Design is going to hire anyone," I said.

Venus shrugged. "Maybe we'll get lucky and she'll send a calling card. Keep reading, Mercury."

She did so, while the rest of us focused our attention on the vendor stalls. The moongirls had a letter stating all of their expenses were to be forwarded to the palace treasury. I suppose I could have used it as well, but I didn't need the money. Besides, it didn't seem right to buy gifts to court Zoisite and then submit the bills to his father. Meanwhile, Mars seemed intent on abusing that privilege to the fullest. Dresses, perfume, bath salts, fancy combs… nothing escaped her notice. Then she found the herbs, candles, crystals, and incense and went absolutely wild.

Jupiter seemed most interested in things that made her look ultra-feminine. Lip paint, feather fans, lace shawls, floral pins... She tried on some silk robes with floral patterns, but since she was about six foot five, they all came to midcalf on her. Not surprising, I'm probably the first person she met who she had to look up at. She sighed, and said she'd have to buy the fabric and take it to a seamstress.

I wondered why she bothered since the moongirls could conjure up whatever outfit they wanted to wear, and asked Venus this very question.

Venus winked. "Our outfits require concentration when altered, so occasionally they malfunction. It only happens rarely, but you don't want to revert to battle dress in the middle of a special moment."

That made sense. I could image the princess accidentally changing from a huge gown into her skimpy outfit during Endymion's wedding.

Venus and I walked hand in hand as I looked over vendor carts trying to find exactly the right gift for Zoisite. Venus was by far the best girlfriend I ever had, but it never even occurred to me that I should find a gift for her as well.

How is it possible that I could walk hand in hand with the one, while thinking only about the other?

There's a simple explanation. I'm not a very nice person.

Besides, finding just the right gift for Zoisite took all my concentration. This was going to be a challenge. Perhaps an insurmountable one. Yet, I didn't get to where I was by admitting defeat. Cost was not a consideration. I earned a lot and spent very little. However, what sort of gift could a man who was nearly thirty could send to another who was not yet twenty without raising eyebrows?

Flowers were out. So were sweets. Too overt. Too obvious. His parents would be alarmed, and rightly so. My first instinct was to buy him a good quality dagger, and it seemed like a good one, since we both had an interest in military matters. In fact, I was already at a weaponsmith's cart looking over the wares before I realized that his mother didn't strike me as the type that would let him keep a weapon in the house.

So I kept walking, hand in hand with Venus while Mars lagged behind us, intend on buying up the entire market. Jupiter had to help her carry some of her parcels. Far as I could tell, Mercury hadn't looked away from her book even once, except when Jupiter found some exceptionally fine green silk and draped some over one shoulder like a toga before buying a length of it.

It would have looked good on Zoisite too. I toyed with the idea of buying a bolt of it for him. Except a gift that requires work to assemble isn't much of a gift at all. Green gemstones would be only marginally better. Though a lot easier to get past his parents under the guise of compensating him for the gems he used for Venus' gift. Only it would be too easy for him to take the note at face value and decide not to play this game any further.

It was just a game to me, after all. As much as I desired him, I had no intention of taking it to the next level. There could be no future for us. Even if I managed to get something going with him, my place was out in the field. I couldn't see myself having a short term relationship with him, and I couldn't see him sitting around in some luxurious parlor, as chaste as a nun, waiting months, or even years, for me to return from a campaign.

So it would be best if I just carried on with Venus. She was more my style anyway.

Yet the thought of Zoisite in the arms of another man made me bitter.

And let's face it, with his beauty and charm, finding his way into the arms of another man was a forgone conclusion.

Mercury closed up the book after the sky dimmed indigo and it was too dark to read. We bought street food and had a quick meal. I scanned the last of the carts and conceded defeat. I had hoped to formulate a reply to Zoisite so I could send it out in the morning, but nothing at the market seemed quite right. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Nephrite and a few of my men. He glared at me with open contempt before they disappeared into a tavern. Knowing Nephrite, they'd be in the common room all night, and well into morning.

"Find anything else?" I asked Mercury as I walked them back to the palace grounds. Mars and Jupiter tailed behind us with two teetering towers of packages.

"Nothing useful. Not yet," Mercury said. "I'll read some more in my room tonight."

"Keep looking," I said. "Study the murders she committed and we can see if we can find some similar unexplained murders in the area."

"You think our assassin may be nearby?" Jupiter asked.

"I can't dismisses the possibility," I released Venus' hand and kissed her cheek. "I'll catch up with you tonight."

"Where are you going?" she asked.

"Over to a tavern to check on my men."

It was time to compare notes with Nephrite.


	12. Chapter 12

As soon as I walked into the tavern my men went quiet. They sat at a long oak table with Nephrite at its head. The men were motionless, some with their tankards almost to their lips. They were terrified of me, and I was glad to see it. A large part of being a commander is making certain your men fear you more than they fear the enemy. A lesson I was certain Nephrite wouldn't learn until it was far too late.

"Good evening, Lord Kunzite," Nephrite said in a haughty voice. "So kind of you to take a break from entertaining your mistresses to pay your men a visit."

"The moongirls are fierce warriors, strong and well disciplined. There is much to be learned by fighting alongside them."

Nephrite nodded. "Is it true Venus is the most beautiful woman in the universe?"

"I'm not sure if she's the most beautiful woman in the universe, but she's certainly the most beautiful woman I've ever seen."

Nephrite chuckled, lapsed into my native dialect, and composed his face to make it appear we were discussing something lewd. My language had no written form and was understood by almost no one. Nephrite had no reason to learn my mother tongue, except to converse with me in private in the presence of our men. When people wonder why I kept him around, despite his transparent attempts to replace me as the king's man...let us just say even naked ambition has its uses.

*Yes, you and your fierce warriors have been making my job increasingly difficult. No sooner do I train a spy to infiltrate the Grand Design than you swoop in and arrest him. I would recommend we coordinate our efforts, but since you are acting without the king's authority...* He made a lewd motion and gave another chuckle

I took a seat near Nephrite so we could converse without shouting. *Spies or not, I need the Grand Design out of the capitol. We are no longer dealing with a lazy mob of malcontents. They've tried to kill the Moon Princess once and nearly succeeded. We can't afford to cut things close again. What have you learned from your spies?*

*I've learned why they want the Moon Princess dead.*

*Oh?* I very much wanted to hear this.

*She is the subject of many doomsday prophesies amid moon cultists. It is said that she will bring about the End of Times. That the sun will swallow up the moon. That an innocent boy will sacrifice his life to save her and she will misuse her powers to resurrect him as a messiah of pure evil. That she will give birth to four heavenly kings, led by a madman, who will rain death and destruction down upon all they encounter. All of these tales have one thing in common, they begin with a betrothal between a princess of the moon to a prince on the earth.*

That idiot girl. *She knows all this and she decided to come here anyway?*

Nephrite shook his head, still playing the ribald drunkard. *She doesn't know anything. Her mother has been careful to keep all of these prophesies from her ears, and the ears of the people surrounding her, so as not to worry her.*

Then her mother was the idiot. *Her people and ours should have been warned!*

*Her mother isn't foolish enough to believe in prophesies* he wore a buffoonish smile but narrowed his eyes at me. *Are you?*

*I've seen more than my share of prophesies come to pass. If for no other reason than because people think they will.*

*There is nothing to worry about in term of further assassination attempts. The moon princess is in hiding. The Grand Design has gotten their heart set on using a particular master assassin, and she has already turned them down. All of their plans of late involve getting this assassin to change her mind.*

*And this assassin. Is her name SH-U-L-A the Deathbringer?*

Nephrite either couldn't hide his startled expression or didn't bother to. *What do you know about her?*

*Only what could be found in books. What do you know about her?*

*Far less than that. I haven't had much time to study. Though, it appears whoever Shula the Deathbringer is, she harbors royalist sentiments. She told her contact that in the interests of keeping the peace she will allow him to live, but if he ever bothers her with another plot against the king, they will be fishing little bits of him out of the harbors.*

*Who is this contact?*

Nephrite sipped his tankard. *As if I'd tell you. I'm sorry. You may still outrank me, for the time being, but I'm the only one of us working under the king's authority.*

*I meant, what is his relationship with Shula?*

*He claims to have been one of her acolytes. They've both since gone into retirement, and they have nearly lost touch, but he claims they are still friendly enough to where she might be persuaded to mastermind a plan for them.*

*This contact. How old is he?* I asked.

*Is that important for you to know?* Nephrite asked.

*It might be.*

*He's around fifty.*

For a moment I just sat there, trying to take in the possible implications.

*You seem troubled.* Nephrite said.

*The original Shula the Deathbringer's acolytes tended to be boys in their teens. She died a quarter of a century ago. This acolyte is too old to fit the standard pattern, which might make this copycat harder to spot.*

*Who said anything about a copycat? This contact insists she's the original.*

*The original died.*

*No, the original was broken in a hundred places, but she survived. Or so he claims. After the attempt on her life, she was rendered lame, the lower left half of her body completely paralyzed. Her followers held a funeral and mourned her since Sh-u-l-a the Deathbringer had died for all intents and purposes, but he insists her mind has remained first rate so she has moved to the capitol and gone underground, working as a consulting assassin.*

Interesting. So Shula had gone from being a girl with a red braid to an aging matron confined to a chair in some den of iniquities.

She might have gotten sneakier, but she certainly wasn't less subtle.

Assuming this contact was telling the truth and not merely trying to milk the Grand Design for their considerable monetary resources.

Nephrite reverted to the common language. "Hey, Jadeite. Show Commander Kunzite the box."

The table howled and Jadeite frowned. "I'd rather not."

"Oh, come on. What's it good for except as a tavern story?"

Jadeite's scowl deepened as he placed an ornate chest on the table. It was polished sandalwood, about a foot deep, a foot tall, and two feet wide. The entire chest was inlayed with a gold filigree showing swords and roses.

"Tell him the story!" several voices commanded.

"You tell him the story," Jadeite said, and lapsed into a sulk.

Nephrite smiles. "Jadeite was playing dice with a couple of merchants. He was winning quite handily. But one of the merchants wanted to keep playing, and he had no more money. Or so he claimed. He offered to sell Jadeite a cask full of pearls to Jadeite for a mere hundred gold. They even opened it to show him the pearls inside. He insisted it was worth over four hundred gold. Jadeite managed to bargain him down to ninety, under the condition that they could always buy it back from him him if their luck changed. Their luck did change, but they took off without buying the chest back."

"Show him why they didn't buy the chest back!" the voices chanted.

Jadeite glumly opened the chest to show the pearls inside. Even in the dim tavern light I could see they were pierced through for use as embroidery or buttons. Then he pulled a small concealed lever on the side and the chest unfolded into tiers.

The top contained pearls, of course.

The next contained tiny colored gems, in every color of the rainbow.

The one below that contain sewing supplies: gold scissors, needles, jeweled pins, thimbles, sticks of teal colored chalk, embroidery loops, and many other things I didn't recognize since I don't do my own sewing.

All of the rows below that contained spools of silk thread. Many, many spools of thread. In every color imaginable.

The table laughed cruelly at Jadeite's bad fortune.

"So you see, Jadeite's chest of pearls turned out to be a sewing kit," Nephrite said.

Jadeite smirked. "A very nice sewing kit, but one you could buy in most harbors for twenty gold or less."

Perfect.

"The tale is about to get funnier," I said. "I'll give you one hundred gold for it."

The laughter stopped.

"It's not worth a hundred gold," Jadeite said.

It seems his fear of me was enough to overcome both his greed and his pride.

"I'm well aware of that. Twenty is for the kit, eighty is for the story that goes along with it."

Still the fool was either too cowed to let me cheat myself or didn't know when to shut his mouth and count his blessings. "I don't understand."

"I've been meaning to buy a gift for someone, but I needed for there to be an amusing story behind it."

"And is this someone a blue eyed blonde moonmaiden by any chance?" Nephrite asked.

"Perhaps," I said.

Nephrite sighed happily and shook his head from side to side. "A hundred gold for a sewing kit. It must be love."

I gave the whole table a baleful smile. I didn't even have to tell them not to make mention of it to her. All of them, including Nephrite knew enough not to approach their commander's woman for conversation.


End file.
